Written by Anna Szymielewicz, Attorney (radca prawny), Supervising Partner, Inheritance
First published: 1 July 2026
Reviewed by Marta Oleśkowska, Barrister (adwokat), Head of Inheritance Practice
Last updated: 8 November 2026
Investments and crypto co-written by Aleksandra Walas, Head of Banking, Payments & FinTech
State of the law: November 2026
In summary
How do you claim a deceased person’s bank account in Poland from abroad?
When the bank learns of the death, the account is frozen and any bank power of attorney ends. The balance belongs to the heirs, and the bank releases it on a Polish court order or notarial certificate of inheritance – or an EU European Certificate of Succession. Some money is paid earlier and outside the estate: the funeral costs to whoever paid them, a death instruction of up to twenty times the average monthly wage to a named spouse, child, parent or sibling, and life insurance to the named beneficiary. To find accounts you do not know about, one request to the Central Account Information system reaches every bank and credit union in Poland. Brokerage accounts, funds, bonds and crypto follow the same logic, each with its own procedure. None of this requires you to be in Poland.
Anna SzymielewiczAttorney (radca prawny), Partner – Supervising Partner of the inheritance practice, Dudkowiak & PutyraLegal 500 profileJustia profileOur figures
What a Polish bank pays, to whom and when
Banking Act, Articles 55–57
Most of the money waits for the heirs and the succession document. Four payments do not: they go to a named person, outside the estate, often within weeks of the death.
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Funeral costs
Refunded from the account to whoever paid, on the receipts – heir or not.
First in line · Article 55
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Death instruction
A sum the account holder left to a spouse, child, parent or sibling.
Up to 20× average wage · Article 56
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Fund beneficiary
Units in a Polish investment fund left to a person named to the fund.
Capped · Funds Act, Article 111
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Life insurance
The sum insured paid to the beneficiary named in the policy.
Not inherited · Civil Code, Article 831
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Everything else
The balance, deposits, investments and crypto – to the heirs, in their shares.
Succession document
Not paid on a death certificate alone: the account balance · deposits · brokerage accounts · treasury bonds · crypto on an exchange · the deceased’s share of a joint account
A deceased person’s bank accounts in Poland – key facts
Bank power of attorney
Ends on death
An account mandate dies with the account holder; the individual account agreement ends on the day of death (Civil Code, Article 101 § 2; Banking Act, Article 59a).
The balance
For the heirs
Released on a final court order or a registered notarial certificate of inheritance, or a European Certificate of Succession from an EU country other than Denmark and Ireland.
Death instruction
Outside the estate
Up to twenty times the average monthly wage in the enterprise sector for the month before the death, to a spouse, ascendant, descendant or sibling (Article 56).
Funeral costs
Refunded first
To whoever paid, on the receipts, up to the cost of a customary funeral and the account balance – before any death instruction (Article 55).
Finding accounts
One request, all banks
The Central Account Information system lists the deceased’s accounts in every Polish bank and credit union – names and numbers, not balances (Articles 92ba–92bc).
More key facts
Joint account
Survivor keeps it
A joint account continues for the other holder; the deceased’s share falls into the estate. Death instructions and funeral refunds do not apply to joint accounts (Articles 57 and 59a).
Life insurance
Not inherited
The sum insured due to a named beneficiary is not part of the estate and is not subject to inheritance tax (Civil Code, Article 831 § 3).
Investment funds
Beneficiary possible
A fund investor can name a person to receive part of the units’ value outside the estate; the rest goes to the heirs (Funds Act, Article 111).
Brokerage and bonds
Heirs’ document
Shares, bonds and fund units are transferred to the heirs or sold or redeemed on their instruction, after the succession is confirmed.
Crypto
Exchange or keys
An exchange releases an account under its own procedure; a private wallet can be reached only with its keys or seed phrase.
Tax
SD-Z2 applies
Inherited balances and death-instruction payments are subject to inheritance tax; close family can be exempt by filing SD-Z2 in time.
Your asset · four questions
Where can the money be, and who can claim it? The assets checker
Choose the kind of asset and answer three questions. The checker shows whether it is part of the estate, who can claim it, what the institution will ask for and the next steps; the same rules are set out in words below it.
Who can claim it and howThe result updates as you answer · nothing you enter leaves your browser
Part of the estate
1
Not sure what exists? Start with the account search in step 1.
2
Banks, funds and insurers keep these instructions on file.
3
The document that proves who the heirs are.
4
Matters for bank accounts and fund units only.
Who can claim it
–
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General information under Polish law, not legal advice. Tell us what you know about the accounts and we confirm the route in writing.
How the checker works
- Bank account or deposit. The balance is part of the estate and is paid to the heirs on a Polish court order, a registered notarial certificate or an ECS. Before that, the bank refunds the funeral costs to whoever paid them (Article 55) and pays any death instruction to the named relative, up to twenty times the average monthly wage (Article 56); both are outside the estate, and the funeral refund comes first.
- Joint account. The other holder keeps using the account; the deceased’s share – under the bank’s terms, often half – belongs to the estate. Funeral refunds and death instructions do not apply (Article 57).
- Brokerage account, fund units, treasury bonds. Part of the estate, transferred to the heirs or sold or redeemed on their instruction after confirmation. Fund units named for a beneficiary are paid to that person outside the estate (Funds Act, Article 111).
- Crypto. Part of the estate. An exchange releases the account under its own terms on the succession document; a private wallet needs its keys or seed phrase, which no court order can replace.
- Life insurance. The sum due to a named beneficiary is not inherited and is paid on the death certificate and the policy (Civil Code, Article 831 § 3); without a beneficiary, the policy terms and the Civil Code decide who is paid.
- Documents. A UK grant or US letters testamentary may not be enough on their own; a European Certificate of Succession from the EU (other than Denmark and Ireland) works without further proceedings.
From a frozen account to money abroad
Recovering a deceased person’s money in Poland: five steps
The steps run in this order for almost every family abroad. Steps 1 and 2 can start in the first weeks; step 3 is the one that takes time.
1 · Find the accountsaccount search · days
2 · Early paymentsfuneral, death instruction · weeks
3 · Confirm the heirsnotary or court · weeks to months
4 · Claim from each institutionbank, broker, fund · weeks
5 · Transfer abroadto your own account · days
Inheritance tax runs alongside step 4: close family file SD-Z2 to be exempt; the bank does not wait for the tax office, but reports what it paid to each heir. If the estate may have debts – a loan or a credit card at the same bank – decide on the inheritance first, within six months of learning of it.
Before you start
Do I need to travel to Poland to claim the money?
In most cases, no. A Polish bank deals with the heirs’ lawyer under a power of attorney. You sign it in your own country before a notary or a Polish consul; it needs an apostille unless Poland has a treaty with your country that waives it, and a sworn Polish translation. Stamp duty is PLN 17 per power of attorney, and a spouse, parents, children and siblings are exempt.
Some banks have their own power-of-attorney requirements or ask an heir to confirm their identity remotely. We check the bank’s procedure before you sign, so the document is accepted the first time. The succession itself – before a court or a notary – also runs without you, as described in our guide to inheritance in Poland.
Families send us the bank’s letter and ask what to sign. We first find out what that bank accepts – some want their own form, some a notarised signature, some both – and only then send the power of attorney, already worded for that bank.
Anna Szymielewicz, Attorney (radca prawny), Partner – Supervising Partner of the inheritance practice, Dudkowiak & PutyraStep 1 · Find the accounts
How to find a deceased person’s bank accounts in Poland
Families often know one bank and suspect more. Poland has a single search for this: the Central Account Information system (Centralna informacja o rachunkach), run for the banks by the national clearing house KIR. One request, filed at any bank or credit union in Poland, reaches all of them.
- Who can ask: an heir with a final court order or a registered notarial certificate of inheritance; foreign heirs may rely on another document confirming the right to the estate, which the bank assesses.
- What you get: a list of the deceased’s accounts – bank and account number, joint accounts included – and of account agreements that have ended; not the balances, which each bank then gives the heirs.
- How long: usually a few days.
- Cost: a fee set by the bank that takes the request, capped by law at the cost of generating the information (Article 92bc).
Before the succession document exists, other traces help: bank letters and cards at the deceased’s home, tax returns, pension payments and banking apps. A bank that is told of the death will contact the people named in a death instruction itself.
Step 2 · Paid before probate
Money paid outside the estate: funeral costs, death instructions and fund beneficiaries
Funeral costsArticle 55 Banking Act
The bank refunds the funeral costs from the deceased’s account to whoever paid them – an heir, a friend or a funeral director – on the receipts. The refund is capped at a funeral in line with local custom and at the balance; costs already covered by the social security funeral grant are not refunded twice. The amount is not part of the estate.
Death instructionArticle 56 Banking Act
An account holder can instruct the bank in writing to pay set sums after death to a spouse, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or siblings. The total across all banks is capped at twenty times the average monthly wage in the enterprise sector published by Statistics Poland for the month before the death. The money is not inherited, the latest instruction prevails, and the funeral refund is paid first.
Example · one savings account, two childrenPLN
Balance on the day of deathindividual savings account
250,000
Funeral refund to the son who paidon the receipts – first in line
12,000
Death instruction for the daughterbelow the Article 56 cap – outside the estate
100,000
Estate for the heirspaid on the succession document, in their shares
138,000
A Polish investment fund works in a similar way: the investor can name a person to receive part of the units’ value outside the estate, up to a capped amount, and whoever paid the funeral can claim the costs from the units (Funds Act, Article 111). A death instruction is not a will – it does not count towards the daughter’s share of the estate – but it is taxed like an inheritance; see our inheritance tax guide.
Step 3 · Confirm the heirs
The succession document every Polish bank asks for
To release the balance, a bank needs proof of who the heirs are and in what shares: a final court order declaring the succession or a notarial certificate of inheritance registered in the Register of Inheritance, or a European Certificate of Succession issued in another EU country (except Denmark and Ireland). Which route fits your family – and why the court route needs no travel – is explained in our guide to inheritance in Poland.
A UK grant of probate or US letters testamentary may not be enough on its own for a Polish bank; foreign succession decisions are in principle recognised like other foreign judgments. What each foreign document can do in Poland is in our guide to foreign probate documents in Poland.
Step 4 · Claim from the bank
Claiming the balance and transferring it abroad
With the succession document, the heirs – or their lawyer – file a payment request with each bank. Banks usually ask for:
- the succession document (court order with the finality clause, registered notarial certificate or ECS) and the death certificate;
- each heir’s identity document, or the power of attorney with a certified copy of the heir’s ID;
- sworn Polish translations of foreign documents, where the bank requires them;
- the account to which each heir’s share is paid – in Poland or abroad;
- where there are several heirs, the bank’s own form, signed by each of them or by their lawyer.
Several heirsbank practice differs
The order or certificate gives each heir a fraction of the whole estate. Many banks pay each heir their share on it; others ask all heirs to sign together or want the estate divided first. We check the bank’s procedure before the heirs sign anything, and represent heirs in several countries in one file.
Money to your account abroadyour bank’s questions
The Polish bank can wire the share abroad. Your own bank will ask where the money comes from: the succession document, the Polish bank’s statement and, where relevant, the tax office certificate are what it expects – we provide them with translations.
The bank power of attorney after deathCivil Code, Article 101 § 2
A mandate to the deceased’s account ends with the death, however broad it was. A relative who still uses the card or online banking after the death is spending the heirs’ money and may have to account for it to them – and to the bank.
Joint accountBanking Act, Articles 57 and 59a
The account continues for the surviving holder, usually a spouse. The deceased’s share falls into the estate – with spouses, separate the marital property first, as explained in our guide to statutory succession.
Pensions or other benefits paid into the account after the death are returned by the bank to the paying authority; social security benefits for the family, such as the funeral grant, are a separate procedure with ZUS. A loan, an overdraft or a credit card at the same bank is a debt of the estate – see our guide to rejection of inheritance in Poland before accepting.
Investment accounts and financial instruments
Brokerage accounts, investment funds and treasury bonds of a deceased person
Securities follow the bank-account rule – they belong to the heirs and are released on the succession document – but each institution has its own procedure and the heirs choose whether to keep or cash in:
Brokerage accountTransfer or sale
Listed shares and bonds are moved to the heirs’ own brokerage accounts, in Poland or abroad, or sold by the broker on their instruction. An heir abroad without a Polish brokerage account usually asks for the sale.
Investment fund unitsBeneficiary first
Units named for a beneficiary are paid to that person outside the estate; the rest is transferred to the heirs’ fund registers or redeemed and paid out. The fund company, not the distributing bank, decides.
Treasury savings bondsTransfer or early redemption
Retail treasury bonds sit on a register account with the State Treasury’s agent. The heirs take them over or have them redeemed early and paid out, on the succession document.
Inherited securities are valued for inheritance tax at their market price on the day the tax obligation arises – see the valuation section of our inheritance tax guide. Shares in a private Polish company are a different matter: the articles of association may limit who can join the company, and the company may need a new board – see our guide to inheriting shares in a Polish company.
Crypto and digital assets
Inheriting crypto in Poland: exchange accounts and private wallets
Crypto-assets are part of the estate like any other property. What decides whether the heirs can actually reach them is where they are held.
On an exchangereleased under the exchange’s terms
An exchange account works much like a bank account: the heirs send the death certificate and the succession document, pass the exchange’s identity checks and have the assets transferred or sold. Foreign exchanges may also ask for documents from their own country.
In a private walletonly with the keys
A wallet controlled by the deceased can be reached only with its private keys or seed phrase. A court order confirms who owns the assets, but no court or lawyer can open a wallet without the keys – search papers, devices and password managers early.
The EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) applies directly to crypto-asset service providers. Poland’s act implementing it, which would make the Polish Financial Supervision Authority the supervisor, has not entered into force: three versions were vetoed between December 2025 and June 2026, and new drafts were filed in autumn 2026. For heirs this changes little – the exchange’s own terms and the succession document decide – but it matters which provider is licensed where.
Whether crypto inherited by an heir abroad is taxed in Poland depends on where the rights are exercised; we check this case by case with the firm’s tax practice.
The first question we ask is not how much the crypto is worth but where it sits. On an exchange it is a paperwork matter, usually in weeks; in a private wallet everything depends on whether the family can find the seed phrase.
Aleksandra Walas, Attorney (radca prawny), Practice Director – Banking, Payments & FinTech, Dudkowiak & Putyra
Outside the estate
Life insurance and other payments that are not inherited
The sum insured under a life policy that is due to a named beneficiary does not belong to the estate (Civil Code, Article 831 § 3). The insurer pays it to the beneficiary on the death certificate and the policy – no succession document, no inheritance tax, and the beneficiary receives it even if they reject the inheritance. Where no beneficiary was named or the beneficiary has died, the policy terms and the Civil Code decide who is paid; we read the policy first. Life insurance and a bank death instruction pass outside the will; how a will deals with the rest of a Polish estate is explained in our guide to wills in Poland.
Group life insurance through a Polish employer works the same way. Pensions and benefits from the Polish social security (ZUS), including the funeral grant, are claimed in separate proceedings and are not covered by this guide.
When the bank delays
A Polish bank is not paying out: complaints and the UOKiK intervention
On 10 June 2026 the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) called on Poland’s largest banks to simplify their procedures for heirs, after investigations prompted by complaints: months of waiting after all documents were filed, requests for further documents, all heirs required to attend at once, and loans of the deceased called in immediately. The banks were asked to report on the changes they make.
- Written complaint to the bank – the bank must answer within the statutory time limit; it also creates the record for the next steps.
- Financial Ombudsman (Rzecznik Finansowy) – free intervention or mediation with the bank.
- Court claim for payment, with interest, where the bank refuses without legal grounds.
Our earlier article on the UOKiK intervention on behalf of heirs describes the complaints in detail.
How Dudkowiak & Putyra recovers a deceased person’s assets for families abroad
Nine in ten of the 300+ inheritance matters the firm has opened since 2023 were for clients living outside Poland. In most of them, part of the estate sits in a Polish bank, broker or fund:
Account search
Central Account Information request and enquiries with brokers, funds and insurers.
Early payments
Funeral refunds, death instructions and fund and insurance beneficiaries claimed for you.
Succession document
Court or notarial confirmation of the heirs, or a foreign document made to work in Poland.
Bank, broker, fund, exchange
Payment requests, transfers, sales and redemptions under your power of attorney.
Transfer abroad
The money wired to your account, with the documents your own bank will ask for.
Disputes with banks
Complaints, the Financial Ombudsman and court claims when a bank delays or refuses.
No travel
A power of attorney signed in your country, worded for the bank that will receive it.
Banking lawyers in the file
The firm’s Banking, Payments & FinTech practice works with banks, brokers and crypto-asset providers every day.
The whole estate in one file
Accounts, property, tax and debts handled together, so one asset does not hold up the others.
Reporting in English
Polish bank letters explained in English; the firm also works in German, Spanish, Italian and French.
Tell us who died, which banks you know of and where you live – we reply within 24 hours.Dudkowiak & Putyra agrees its fees with each client in writing before the work starts, based on the scope of the matter.
Who you talk to first
Bank accounts and other assets of a deceased person are handled by the supervising partner and the head of the inheritance practice, with the head of the firm’s banking practice for investments and crypto. The full inheritance team is on the practice page.
Author of this guide
Attorney (radca prawny), Partner · Supervising Partner, Head of Litigation & Arbitration
Admitted as an attorney-at-law in 2017; law at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Supervises the inheritance practice and leads the firm’s litigation – including claims against banks and contested successions.
Reviewer of this guide
Barrister (adwokat), Senior Counsel · Head of Inheritance, Succession & Probate
Admitted as an advocate in 2019; law at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Leads Dudkowiak & Putyra’s inheritance matters for clients abroad – confirming the succession before courts and notaries, and the division and sale that follow.
Co-author · investments and crypto
Attorney (radca prawny) · Practice Director, Banking, Payments & FinTech
Leads the firm’s Banking, Payments & FinTech practice of nine people – banks, payment institutions, brokers and crypto-asset providers – and works on the release of brokerage accounts, fund units and crypto-assets in inheritance matters. Ranked by Chambers FinTech 2026 (FinTech Legal, Poland, Band 4).
Supporting practices
TaxMarcin Kręglewski · 9 tax advisers and lawyers
Inheritance tax on balances, securities and crypto, and the SD-Z2 exemption for each heir.
Commercial & CorporateMichał Puk · 14 lawyers
Shares in private Polish companies that are part of the same estate.
Real EstateWojciech Kasprzak · 5 lawyers
Inherited flats and land: the land register, division and sale.
Immigration & Polish CitizenshipDenis Ushakov · 4 people
Polish civil records that prove the family relationship to the bank and the court.
Sources and methodology
Legal basis:
- Banking Act of 29 August 1997 (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2026, item 38) – Articles 55 (funeral costs and benefits paid after death), 56 (death instruction), 57 (joint accounts), 59a (end of the account agreement on death), 92ba–92bc (Central Account Information);
- Civil Code (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2026, item 795) – Articles 101 § 2 (end of a power of attorney on death), 831–832 (life insurance beneficiaries), 922 (what the estate includes), 1015 (six months to decide);
- Act on investment funds of 27 May 2004 (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2026, item 60) – Article 111 (death of a fund investor);
- Inheritance and Gift Tax Act – taxation of inheritances and death-instruction payments, exemption for close family (Article 4a);
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA); Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on succession (European Certificate of Succession);
- Supreme Court resolution of 27 April 2022, III CZP 35/22 – a death-instruction payment does not count towards the heir’s share on division.
Official sources: Polish legislation – isap.sejm.gov.pl; Central Account Information – Krajowa Izba Rozliczeniowa (KIR); UOKiK communication of 10 June 2026 on banks’ procedures for heirs; succession in the EU – European e-Justice Portal.
Own data: figures under “Our figures” come from Dudkowiak & Putyra matter records (DP-Stats). 300+ inheritance matters, 9 in 10 and 78%: inheritance, succession and probate matters opened 1 January 2023 – 8 October 2026 (301 matters for 171 clients; 89% living outside Poland; 78% in English-speaking countries, 36% United States, 20% United Kingdom). 80+ first assessments: written first assessments opened since January 2023 (81). 18 countries: countries of residence of inheritance clients with matters opened 2022–2026, taken from the case files. 50+ supporting lawyers: lawyers in the firm’s other practices as at October 2026. The recent matter is described from the case file; the client is not named.
Checker: applies the rules in “How the checker works” to the answers given; it does not check a particular bank’s terms or a will. It does not store or send data.
State of the law: November 2026, including the status of the Polish crypto-asset market act. This page is general information, not legal advice.
FAQ – a deceased person’s bank accounts in Poland
How do I get money from a deceased person’s bank account in Poland?
The bank pays the balance to the heirs once they present a final Polish court order or a registered notarial certificate of inheritance – or a European Certificate of Succession from another EU country – with their identity documents or a power of attorney. Funeral costs and any death instruction are paid earlier, outside the estate.
Does a bank power of attorney still work after the account holder dies?
No. It ends with the death, and the individual account agreement ends on the same day. Using the card or online banking after the death means spending the heirs’ money.
How do I find out which banks the deceased used?
Through the Central Account Information system: an heir with a succession document files one request at any Polish bank or credit union, and receives within days a list of the deceased’s accounts in all of them – without balances.
Can the bank pay anything before the succession is confirmed?
Yes: the funeral costs to whoever paid them, on the receipts, and the sums left by a death instruction to a spouse, ascendants, descendants or siblings – up to twenty times the average monthly wage in total. Both are outside the estate.
Do all heirs have to sign together?
It depends on the bank. Many banks pay each heir their share on the court order or notarial certificate; others ask all heirs to sign together or want the estate divided first. A lawyer acting for all heirs under their powers of attorney avoids the need to meet.
Can the money be paid to my bank account abroad?
Yes. The Polish bank wires each heir’s share to the account indicated, in zloty or converted. Your own bank may ask for the succession document and the Polish bank’s statement, which we provide with translations.
Do I need to come to Poland to claim a deceased’s bank account?
In most cases, no. A lawyer acts under a power of attorney you sign in your country before a notary or a Polish consul, with an apostille where required and a sworn translation; the succession can be confirmed by a Polish court without your presence.
What happens to a joint bank account when one holder dies?
It continues for the surviving holder. The deceased’s share belongs to the estate; death instructions and funeral refunds do not apply to joint accounts.
What happens to shares, funds and bonds of a deceased person?
They are transferred to the heirs’ own accounts or sold or redeemed on their instruction, on the succession document. Fund units named for a beneficiary are paid to that person outside the estate.
Can heirs access the deceased’s crypto?
On an exchange, yes – under the exchange’s procedure, on the death certificate and the succession document. In a private wallet, only if the keys or seed phrase can be found.
Is life insurance part of the estate in Poland?
Not when a beneficiary is named: the insurer pays the beneficiary directly, outside the estate and without inheritance tax. The beneficiary receives it even after rejecting the inheritance.
Do I pay inheritance tax on a Polish bank account?
Account balances and death-instruction payments are subject to inheritance tax, but close family who meet the conditions are exempt after filing SD-Z2 in time. See our inheritance tax guide.
