Written by Marta Oleśkowska, Barrister (adwokat), Head of Inheritance Practice
First published: 5 November 2026
Reviewed by Anna Szymielewicz, Attorney (radca prawny), Supervising Partner, Inheritance
Last updated: 5 November 2026
In summary
How do you reject an inheritance in Poland when you live abroad?
In Poland, debts pass to the heirs together with the assets. Each heir has six months from the day they learned that they are an heir – not from the death – to reject the inheritance or to accept it with the benefit of inventory, which caps liability at the value of the estate. An heir who says nothing accepts with the benefit of inventory (Article 1015 of the Civil Code). The rejection is made before a Polish court or notary, or in writing with a signature certified by a Polish consul or a notary in your country, and filed with the Polish court in time. Once you reject, your children usually inherit next – and since November 2023 a parent can often reject for them without a court’s consent. None of this requires you to come to Poland.
Marta OleśkowskaBarrister (adwokat), Senior Counsel – Head of Inheritance, Succession & Probate, Dudkowiak & PutyraMissed deadline undone
Heir in the Netherlands – the estate rejected for her and her children after a debt surfaced.
Debts and rejection · 2025–2026 · case study
Our figures
Accept, accept with inventory or reject: the three choices
Article 1012 of the Civil Code
Declaration needed
Accept outright
Your liability
All the debts
Paid from the estate and, if it is not enough, from your own money.
Your children
Not affected.
When it makes sense
The estate is clearly solvent and you want to act on it at once.
Also if you do nothing
Accept with inventory
Your liability
Up to the value of the assets
Debts above the value of what you inherit are not yours.
Your children
Not affected.
When it makes sense
The debts are unknown or uncertain, or the estate may still be worth something.
Declaration needed
Reject
Your liability
None
You inherit nothing – neither the assets nor the debts.
Your children
They inherit next – reject for them too.
When it makes sense
The debts clearly exceed the assets, or you want nothing from the estate.
6 months from the day you learned you are an heir · silence means acceptance with inventory · a declaration cannot be withdrawn
Rejection of inheritance in Poland – key facts
Deadline
6 months
From the day the heir learned of the inheritance and of being an heir – not from the death (Article 1015 § 1 of the Civil Code).
If you do nothing
Accepted with inventory
Liability for the debts is limited to the value of the inherited assets (Article 1015 § 2).
Where
Court or notary
In Poland – or in writing, with a signature certified by a Polish consul or a notary abroad, filed with the Polish court.
Effect
As if you died first
Your descendants take your place and must make their own declarations (Article 1020).
Final
Cannot be withdrawn
No conditions and no revocation; only error or threat can undo it, through the court (Articles 1018 and 1019).
More key facts
Keeping the deadline
An application is enough
Filing an application with the Polish court before the six months end keeps the deadline (Article 1015 § 1¹, since 15 November 2023).
Children
Often no court consent
A parent can reject for a child who inherits only because the parent rejected, if both parents agree (Article 101 § 4 of the Family and Guardianship Code).
Court consent
Deadline paused
Where the family court’s consent is needed, the six months stop running while it decides (Article 1015 § 1²).
Several heirs
Jointly, then by share
Until the estate is divided, heirs who accepted are jointly liable for its debts; after division, in proportion to their shares (Article 1034).
Inheritance tax
None on a rejection
An heir who rejects acquires nothing and files no return; for the others, the estate’s debts reduce the taxable value.
Official fee
PLN 100
Court fee per application to receive a declaration; before a notary up to PLN 100 plus VAT.
Deadline check · four questions
When is your last day to reject an inheritance in Poland?
Six calendar months from the day you learned that you are an heir. For most people that is the day they learned of the death and of their relationship to the deceased; for an heir under a will, the day they learned of the will; for someone called because another heir rejected, the day they learned of that rejection. The check below counts the date, tells you how to sign where you live and whether your children need the court’s consent.
Your last day to decideThe result updates as you answer · nothing you enter leaves your browser
6 months
1
If you are not sure, enter the earliest date you can prove.
2
Every route keeps you within Polish law; they differ in cost and timing.
3
For example, the deceased’s own child, or a grandchild whose parent had died before.
4
Only matters if children are involved.
Last day to reject
–
Enter the date in step 1.
General information under the rules on this page, not legal advice. Send us the dates and we confirm your deadline in writing.
How the deadline check works
- Six months. Counted from the date in step 1 to the same day six months later (Article 1015 § 1 of the Civil Code).
- Keeping the deadline. An application to the Polish court filed before the last day is enough, even if the court receives the declaration later (Article 1015 § 1¹).
- Children. No court consent where the child inherits only because a parent rejected and both parents agree; otherwise the family court consents, and the six months stop running while it decides (Article 101 § 4 of the Family and Guardianship Code; Article 1015 § 1²).
- Missed deadline. The estate is accepted with the benefit of inventory; its effects can be set aside for error or threat, within one year of discovering the error (Articles 1019 and 88 § 2).
From abroad · five ways to sign
Do I need to travel to Poland to reject an inheritance?
No. Polish law accepts a declaration made in Poland before a court or notary, but also a written declaration with an officially certified signature – which you can sign in your own country. What matters is that the declaration, or at least an application to receive it, reaches the competent Polish court before the six months end. Choose where you will sign:
All five give the same legal effect. The court of the deceased’s last place of residence in Poland receives the declaration – otherwise the court where the estate is, and failing that a Warsaw court.
Polish consulate signature certified by the consul
No travel to PolandConsular fee by tariffBook early
You sign the written rejection in person before the Polish consul, who certifies that the signature is yours. The consul does not decide anything: the signed declaration has to be filed with the Polish court within the six months – we file it, or file the application first so that the deadline is kept.
Notary in your country signature certified locally
No travel to PolandApostille if requiredSworn translation
A local notary certifies your signature on the declaration. Depending on the country, an apostille or a consular legalisation is added – some countries are exempt under a bilateral agreement with Poland – and a sworn translator translates the certification. We prepare a bilingual text and check the requirements for your country before you sign.
Lawyer in Poland power of attorney with a certified signature
No travel to PolandOne signature for everything
You sign a power of attorney with a certified signature – before a consul or a notary in your country – and we make the declaration for you before a Polish notary or the court (Article 1018 § 3 of the Civil Code). The same document can cover your children’s rejections and the inventory, so you sign only once.
Polish notary declaration in a notarial protocol
In PolandUp to PLN 100 + VATSame day
If you are in Poland anyway, any Polish notary takes the declaration orally and records it in a protocol; the notary sends it to the court. Several heirs – parents and children – can make their declarations at one appointment.
Polish court orally or in writing
In Poland or by postPLN 100 court fee
The declaration can be made orally before a district court, or filed in writing with a certified signature. Where the succession is already being confirmed in court, the declaration can also be made in those proceedings.
A signature can be certified anywhere in the world, but the rejection only counts once the Polish court has it. We file the application first, so a slow consular appointment never costs a family the deadline.
Marta Oleśkowska, Barrister (adwokat), Senior Counsel – Head of Inheritance, Succession & Probate, Dudkowiak & Putyra
Step 1 · Check the debts
How to check whether a Polish estate has debts
Poland has no single register of a deceased person’s debts, and banks and most creditors share information only with confirmed heirs. Within the six months we can still build a reliable picture from public registers and the papers the deceased left behind:
What can be checked
- Land registers – mortgages and enforcement entries on the deceased’s property
- The National Debtor Register and the court register (KRS) – insolvency, and roles as a board member or partner
- Bank statements, loan and card agreements, letters from creditors and bailiffs at the last address
- Court cases in which the deceased was a party, where they are known
What often stays hidden
- Bank loans and credit cards with no entry in any public register
- Guarantees and liability for a company’s debts
- Tax and social-security arrears, disclosed to confirmed heirs
- Claims that surface months later – sometimes after the six months have ended
Where real doubt remains on the last day, accepting with the benefit of inventory – or simply letting the six months pass – caps your liability at the value of the estate. A rejection is final, so it should follow the check, not replace it.
Step 2 · Decide
Accept, accept with inventory or reject – what each choice means in money
Enter what you know of the estate. The calculator shows what each choice would leave you with; it follows the liability rules of Article 1031 of the Civil Code.
What each choice leaves you withEstimates in PLN · nothing you enter leaves your browser
1
Flat, accounts, car – at market value.
2
Loans, cards, arrears – as far as known.
Accept outright
–
–
Accept with inventory
–
–
Reject
PLN 0
You receive nothing and owe nothing; your children are called next.
How the calculator works
- Accept outright. You take the assets and answer for all the debts, with your own money if the estate is not enough (Article 1031 § 1).
- Accept with inventory. You answer for the debts only up to the value of the assets in the inventory; you keep what remains once they are paid (Article 1031 § 2). The cap is lost if assets are hidden from the inventory.
- Reject. You are treated as if you had died before the deceased; your share passes to your descendants or the other heirs (Article 1020).
- Unknown debts. The figures are only as good as what is known: debts discovered later change the outright result, not the inventory result.
Children · Family and Guardianship Code
Rejecting an inheritance on behalf of a child
When a parent rejects, their children are called to inherit in their place – including the debts. Minor children can reject only through their parents, and since 15 November 2023 that is often possible without going to court:
No court consent neededArticle 101 § 4
- the child inherits only because the parent rejected first;
- the parent has parental authority in this matter;
- the other parent consents, or both parents act together;
- the parents’ other descendants – for example an adult son or daughter – have also rejected.
The parent’s declaration states these facts under criminal liability for a false statement; one declaration can cover several children.
Family court consent neededArticle 101 § 3
- the child is a direct heir – for example the deceased’s own child, or a grandchild whose parent died earlier;
- the parents do not agree, or one cannot be reached;
- another descendant of the parents has not rejected.
Apply before the six months end: while the court decides, the deadline stops running (Article 1015 § 1²), and the rejection is made once the consent is final.
Children who live abroad. Which court gives the consent can depend on where the child lives – sometimes a court in the child’s own country rather than a Polish one. Tell us early: the consent is usually what takes longest in a family rejection.
When a parent rejects, the debt does not disappear – it moves to the children. We prepare the parent’s and the children’s rejections together, so that no one in the family is left holding the estate by accident.
Anna Szymielewicz, Attorney (radca prawny), Partner – Supervising Partner of the inheritance practice, Dudkowiak & Putyra
After a rejection · statutory order
Who inherits next when you reject an inheritance in Poland?
An heir who rejects is treated as if they had died before the deceased (Article 1020). The share does not disappear – it passes down the statutory order, and each new heir has their own six months from learning of it. Choose who rejects to see where the estate goes:
The full order and every share: statutory succession in Poland (Articles 931–935 of the Civil Code).
Childrejects
Their childreninherit the share
Other heirsif there are none
The child’s share goes to their own children – the grandchildren of the deceased – who must reject separately, through their parents if they are minors. Only if the child has no descendants does the share grow the shares of the spouse and the other children.
Descendantsall reject
Spouse and parentsinherit
Siblingsfor a parent who died
When every descendant has rejected, the estate passes to the spouse and the deceased’s parents. The share of a parent who died earlier goes to the deceased’s brothers and sisters, and through them to nieces and nephews.
Spouserejects
Same groupchildren, or parents and siblings
The spouse has no descendants who could take their place as spouse, so the share grows the shares of the other heirs called with the spouse – the children, or, without children, the parents and siblings of the deceased.
Spouse, parents, siblingsall reject
Grandparentsthen aunts and uncles
Stepchildren
Municipality or Statecannot reject
Next come the grandparents, and for a grandparent who died earlier their children – the deceased’s aunts and uncles. For deaths since 15 November 2023, the line stops at cousins: their children and more distant relatives no longer inherit by statute. After them come stepchildren, and finally the municipality or the State Treasury, which cannot reject and is always liable only up to the value of the estate.
Heir under the willrejects
Substituteif the will names one
Other heirsunder the will or by statute
If the will names a substitute, the substitute inherits. Otherwise the share usually grows the shares of the other heirs under the will, and where there are none it passes to the statutory heirs – who then have their own six months.
In practice this means a family decides together: when the parents reject an estate with debts, their children, grandchildren and sometimes siblings and their children are called one after another, each with a new six-month period. We prepare all the declarations as one set.
Limited liability · Articles 1031–1031³
Inventory of the estate: the list you file yourself or the bailiff’s record
Acceptance with the benefit of inventory caps liability at the value of the assets. That value is fixed in one of two documents – neither has a statutory deadline, but the earlier it exists, the easier it is to answer creditors:
List of inventorywykaz inwentarza
Drawn up by the heir: every asset and debt, valued as at the date of death. Filed with the court without a court fee, or made before a notary as a protocol. Quick and inexpensive, and it can be prepared from abroad under a power of attorney.
Assets hidden in bad faith, or invented debts, remove the cap. New items must be added when they come to light.
Inventory by a bailiffspis inwentarza
Ordered by the court on an application by an heir, a creditor or another interested person; a court bailiff establishes and values the assets. PLN 100 court fee plus the bailiff’s costs, and it takes longer.
Useful where the heirs do not know what the estate holds or do not trust each other’s figures.
After the deadline · Article 1019
Missed the six-month deadline? Setting aside its effects
After six months of silence the estate is accepted with the benefit of inventory – your liability is capped, but you are an heir. If you did not reject because of an error – for example, a debt you could not have known about despite reasonable checks – or because of a threat, you can ask the Polish court to set aside the effects of not making a declaration and reject at the same time (Article 1019 § 2).
- Act within a year – of discovering the error; an application filed with the court in time is enough (Articles 88 § 2 and 1019 § 1(3)).
- Reject in the same application – the court needs to know what you now declare.
- Prove the error – when and how you learned of the debt, and what you had checked before.
- Court approval – the court decides whether the error justifies it (Article 1019 § 3); then the next heirs are called.
Courts accept a missed deadline only where the heir did check and could not have known. That is why we keep a record of every register we search in the first weeks – it is the evidence if a creditor appears two years later.
Marta Oleśkowska, Barrister (adwokat), Senior Counsel – Head of Inheritance, Succession & Probate, Dudkowiak & PutyraCreditors · Articles 1030–1034
Creditors and an estate with debts: what heirs are liable for
Creditors of the deceased can claim from the heirs once the heirs have accepted. How far they can go depends on the choice made and on whether the estate has been divided:
Before the estate is divided
Heirs who accepted are jointly liable for the estate’s debts: a creditor can claim the whole debt from any of them, within each heir’s own limit if they accepted with inventory (Article 1034 § 1).
After the division
Each heir is liable in proportion to their share of the estate (Article 1034 § 2). An heir with limited liability never pays more than the value of the assets in the inventory.
When a bank or a debt collector sues an heir, the defence is usually in the documents: the date the heir learned of the inheritance, the rejection or the inventory, and whether the claim is time-barred. Our litigation team handles these cases with the inheritance team.
Rejection or renunciation? A renunciation of inheritance (zrzeczenie się dziedziczenia, Article 1048) is a notarial agreement with the future testator, made during their lifetime. After the death only a rejection is possible – the subject of this guide.
What rejecting an inheritance in Poland costs – official fees
Dudkowiak & Putyra agrees its fees with each client in writing before the work starts, based on the scope of the matter. The official costs are:
Official costsverified 5 November 2026
Court – receiving a declarationAct on court costs in civil matters, Art. 49(1)(4) · per application
PLN 100
Notary in Poland – declarationnotarial tariff, § 8 · maximum, plus copies
PLN 100 + VAT
Consul or notary abroad – signatureconsular tariff or local fees; apostille where required
by tariff
Power of attorneysignature certified by a Polish notary up to PLN 60 + VAT; stamp duty PLN 17 unless the attorney is close family
PLN 17
List of inventoryfiled with the court; before a notary – notarial tariff
no court fee
Inventory by a bailiffArt. 49(1)(3), plus the bailiff’s costs
PLN 100 +
Family court consent for a childwhere required
by statute
Sworn translationsforeign certifications and civil records · agreed with the translator
per page
Your lawyeragreed in writing before the work starts
agreed with the law firm
How Dudkowiak & Putyra handles the rejection of an inheritance for heirs abroad
Nine in ten of the 300+ inheritance matters the firm has opened since 2023 were for clients living outside Poland. A rejection is usually the first and most urgent step in such a file:
Debt check
Registers, papers and creditors’ letters reviewed before the six months end – in writing, in English.
Rejection from abroad
Declarations drafted for the consul or your local notary, certification checked, filed with the Polish court in time.
Children
Parents’ and children’s rejections as one set; applications for the family court’s consent where needed.
Inventory
Lists of inventory filed with the court, or an inventory by a bailiff where the estate is unclear.
Missed deadline
Applications to set aside the effects of a missed deadline, with the evidence of what was checked.
Creditors in court
Defence of heirs sued by banks and debt collectors, with the firm’s litigation team.
No travel
One signature in your country – at a consulate or before a notary – covers the whole family’s declarations.
The deadline is kept first
We file the application with the court before anything else, so paperwork abroad never costs the six months.
Both sides of a debt
The same firm acts for creditors and heirs in court; we know what a bank will check.
Reporting in English
Polish court letters explained in English; the firm also works in German, Spanish, Italian and French.
Tell us who died, when you learned of it 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.
Case studies – rejecting an inheritance with debts from abroad
Matters from the firm’s inheritance practice page, described from the case files. Private clients are never named.
Debtmissed deadline undone
Debts and rejection · Netherlands · 2025–2026
An heir in the Netherlands and a debt that surfaced two years after the death
Our client in The Hague let the six-month deadline pass after every register showed no debts. When a bank later claimed against the estate, Dudkowiak & Putyra applied within a month to set aside the effects of the missed deadline for error, had her rejection signed before the Polish consul in The Hague and prepared rejections for her children.
2 casesa bank’s claims discontinued
Debts and rejection · United Kingdom · 2021–2026
Protecting two daughters in London from a Polish bank’s claim on their father’s estate
A Polish bank drew two London-based daughters into proceedings to recover their late father’s debt. Dudkowiak & Putyra filed their rejection with an alternative declaration setting aside the effects of the missed deadline for error of law; both of the bank’s cases were discontinued, the second in February 2026.
Who you talk to first
Rejections for heirs abroad are handled by the head of the inheritance practice, with the partner who leads the firm’s litigation and debt collection work. The full inheritance team is on the practice page.
Author 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 – debt checks, rejections for families and children, inventories and the succession proceedings that follow.
Reviewer 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 and debt collection work – contested successions, creditors’ claims against estates and heirs, and evidence of foreign law in Polish courts.
Attorney (radca prawny), Counsel
Probate proceedings, Polish civil records and documents from abroad.
Dominika Kozińska
Trainee attorney
Debt checks before acceptance or rejection; lists of inventory.
Supporting practices
Family lawMartyna Dudkowiak · Dudkowiak Family Lawyers
Family court consent for a child’s rejection; parental authority questions across borders.
Immigration & Polish CitizenshipDenis Ushakov · 4 people
Transcription of foreign civil records and the documents that prove who the heirs are.
TaxMarcin Kręglewski · 9 tax advisers and lawyers
Tax arrears of the deceased and inheritance tax for the heirs who accept, with the estate’s debts deducted.
Real EstateWojciech Kasprzak · 5 lawyers
Mortgages and enforcement entries in the land register; selling property to pay the estate’s debts.
Sources and methodology
Legal basis:
- Civil Code – Articles 1012–1024 (acceptance and rejection; in particular 1015 § 1–2 on the six months and the effect of silence, 1015 § 1¹ on keeping the deadline by an application to the court, 1015 § 1² on the suspension while the court’s consent is pending, 1018 § 3 on the form and the power of attorney, 1019 on error and threat, 1020 on the effect of rejection, 1023 on the municipality and the State Treasury); Articles 1030–1034 (liability for the estate’s debts; 1031¹–1031³ on the list of inventory); Articles 931–935 (statutory succession); Article 1048 (renunciation agreement); Article 88 § 2 (one year to rely on an error);
- Family and Guardianship Code – Article 101 §§ 3–4 (rejection on behalf of a child);
- Code of Civil Procedure – Articles 628, 637–641 (competent court, inventory, declarations; 641 §§ 3¹–3⁵ on a parent’s declaration for a child);
- Act of 28 July 2023 amending the Civil Code and other acts (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1615) – in force from 15 November 2023;
- Act of 28 July 2005 on court costs in civil matters – Article 49(1)(3)–(4) and 49(2);
- Minister of Justice regulation on maximum notarial fees, as amended on 13 October 2026 (Journal of Laws 2026, item 1370) – §§ 8 and 13;
- Act of 16 November 2006 on stamp duty – Annex, part IV (power of attorney).
Official sources: Polish consulates on declarations made abroad – gov.pl – Poland in Australia and gov.pl – Poland in Belgium; land and mortgage registers – ekw.ms.gov.pl; Polish legislation – isap.sejm.gov.pl.
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. Case studies are taken from the firm’s practice pages; private clients are never named.
Calculators: the deadline check adds six calendar months to the date entered; the choice calculator applies Article 1031 to the figures entered. Neither stores or sends data.
State of the law: November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.
FAQ – rejection of inheritance in Poland
What is the deadline to reject an inheritance in Poland?
Six months from the day the heir learned that they are an heir – not from the date of death. An application filed with the Polish court before the six months end is enough to keep the deadline, even if the declaration itself follows later.
What happens if I do nothing?
After six months the inheritance is accepted with the benefit of inventory: you become an heir, but you answer for the debts only up to the value of the assets you inherit.
Can I reject an inheritance in Poland from the US or the UK?
Yes, without travelling. You sign a written rejection before the Polish consul or a local notary (with an apostille where required), or give a lawyer in Poland a power of attorney with a certified signature; the declaration is then filed with the Polish court before the six months end.
Can the Polish consul accept my rejection?
The consul certifies your signature on the written declaration; the declaration takes effect once it is filed with the Polish court. File it, or an application to the court, before the six months end – the consular appointment alone does not keep the deadline.
How do I reject an inheritance on behalf of my child?
If your child inherits only because you rejected, both parents agree and the parents’ other descendants have also rejected, you reject for the child without the court’s consent, in a declaration that states these facts. Otherwise you apply to the family court for consent first; the six months stop running while it decides.
If I reject, will my children inherit the debts?
They are called to inherit in your place, debts included, unless they reject too. Parents usually reject for themselves and their minor children at the same time; adult children make their own declarations within their own six months.
Can I reject the debts and keep the house?
No. A rejection covers the whole estate. To keep the assets while limiting the risk, accept with the benefit of inventory: you answer for the debts only up to the value of what you inherit.
Can I withdraw a rejection?
No. A declaration cannot be withdrawn or made conditional. Its effects can be set aside only through the court, for error or threat, within one year of discovering the error.
I missed the six months – is it too late?
Not always. If you did not reject because of an error – typically a debt you could not have known about – you can apply to the court to set aside the effects of the missed deadline and reject at the same time, within one year of discovering it. The court must approve it.
What does it cost to reject an inheritance in Poland?
The court fee is PLN 100 per application; a Polish notary charges up to PLN 100 plus VAT for the declaration. A consul or a notary abroad charges by their own tariff. Lawyers’ fees are not published in Poland and are agreed in writing before the work starts.
What is the difference between rejection and renunciation of inheritance?
A rejection is made by an heir after the death, within six months. A renunciation of inheritance is a notarial agreement with the future testator during their lifetime, by which a relative gives up the right to inherit.
Do I pay inheritance tax if I reject?
No. An heir who rejects acquires nothing and files no tax return. For the heirs who accept, the estate’s debts reduce the taxable value – see our guide to inheritance tax in Poland.
