Inheritance matters are one of those matters that cannot be avoided. Inheritance often involves fighting for large family assets and often defending against inheritance debts. A good attorney or inheritance lawyer is therefore worth its weight in gold. The law firm I run offers comprehensive legal assistance in all matters relating to inheritance.
Often it’s just simple formalities. However, to go through these formalities, you need a person who knows what and how to do and will handle the matter in a committed manner. Sometimes, however, cases of a more serious nature arise and you need a good lawyer who will work to your benefit. One who has extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of inheritance issues.
As an inheritance lawyer operating in the Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) and surrounding areas, I provide services to individual clients. The scope of inheritance law services includes the following matters:
There is no single, universal answer to the above question. It all depends on the individual situation of the heir.
In some cases, court or notarial confirmation of the inheritance will then only require reporting to the appropriate tax office. Depending on the items included in the inheritance and the degree of relationship with the testator, it will be possible to benefit from tax exemption.
If you acquire rights to real estate that has a land and mortgage register, it is a good idea to change the owner’s entry in the land and mortgage register. This is especially important for people who want to sell real estate received inheritance.
The situation, however, may be more complicated. If it is confirmed that the inheritance has been acquired with the benefit of an inventory, an inventory list must be prepared or an inventory list must be prepared by the bailiff. If an inheritance is confirmed, the heirs may be obliged to comply with the provisions, orders and simply pay off the inheritance debts.
Depending on the situation, there may also be a need to pay or defend against payment of the compulsory share. If there are several heirs, they inherit the items included in the estate in the share indicated in the decision confirming the acquisition of inheritance or the act of inheritance certification. This is often the source of conflicts that result in the need to carry out proceedings for the division of the inheritance. However, the division of the inheritance can be done in a contractual form and thus save a lot of nerves, time and, above all, costs related to legal handling of the matter.
As you can see, the answer to the question: determining the inheritance and what next is not simple and always depends on the situation of the heir.
The cost of an inheritance case in court depends on the type of proceedings to be conducted. People interested in filing an inheritance case in court will find the answer to their question in the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases:
Article 49 of the Act:
1. A fixed fee of PLN 100 is charged for an application for:
1) confirmation of inheritance;
2) inheritance security
3) preparation of an inventory list;
4) receiving a declaration of acceptance or rejection of the inheritance.
2. If the applications referred to in section 1 are included in one letter or in an application for division of inheritance, the fee is collected from each of them separately.
Article 50 of the Act
1. A fixed fee of PLN 100 is collected from:
1) appeal, cassation complaint and complaint for declaring the unlawfulness of a final judgment in the case of declaring inheritance
2) application to secure the foreigner’s inheritance
3) application for issuing the foreigner’s inheritance to the competent consul.
Article 51 of the Act
1. A fixed fee of PLN 500 is charged for the application for the division of the estate, and if it contains a compliant draft of the division of the estate, a fixed fee of PLN 300 is charged.
2. A fixed fee of PLN 1,000 is charged for an application for the division of inheritance combined with the abolition of co-ownership, and if it contains a compatible draft of the division of inheritance and abolition of co-ownership, a fixed fee of PLN 600 is charged.
For example, if you submit an application for confirmation of inheritance along with an application for the Court to accept a declaration of acceptance of inheritance, you will pay a total of PLN 200.
In inheritance matters, you can also apply for exemption from court costs, I described this issue in more detail on the website in the tab “Lawyer Gdynia”. Specializations: Civil proceedings, court cases.
Inheritance cases also include legitime cases. This is a procedural matter and the person who demands payment for the compulsory share will be responsible for initiating it. Here, the fee will depend on the value of the subject of the dispute, i.e. the amount claimed by the plaintiff. In cases where the value of the subject matter of the dispute exceeds PLN 20,000, the fee will be 5% of the value of the subject matter of the dispute.
An inheritance case in court may last several months, or even over a year or even two or three years. Everything depends on: the complexity of the case, the number of participants and whether they are known to the court, and the evidentiary proceedings.
The inheritance court examines ex officio who is the heir. This, in turn, means that the court will conduct evidentiary proceedings to establish inheritance. In the case of uncomplicated cases, i.e. where there is no dispute between the heirs as to who will inherit from the deceased and the participants were properly informed by the court about the hearing – issuing a decision takes up to half a year from the date of submitting the application.
The duration of the case will be different in a situation where:
As you can see, the answer to the question of how long an inheritance case takes in court is not as simple as it may seem.
Legal advice regarding inheritance is a good option for people who want to handle the inheritance case on their own, but prefer, for example, to make sure that their actions are correct. The cost of advice from an inheritance lawyer should start at PLN 200. This amount may increase depending on the complexity of the case and, therefore, on the lawyer’s involvement in answering the inquiry. Please remember that not all inheritance matters are easy, simple and pleasant. Often, in inheritance cases, especially where there is no agreement between the heirs, providing assistance takes a little longer due to the complicated facts. In such a situation, you should be prepared for higher assistance costs.
“Lawyer Gdynia inheritance matters” is a series of entries devoted to inheritance law that I write on my blog. As an inheritance lawyer, I am happy to share my knowledge. I believe that we, lawyers, also have an extraordinary obligation to support society in the development of legal awareness. Check out my blog.
If you need help from an inheritance lawyer, please contact me. In the case of inheritance matters, we serve clients from all over Poland, but in particular from the Tricity (Gdynia, Gdańsk, Sopot) and Kutno. I will be happy to welcome you at the office located at the following address: Gdynia, ul. Śląska 53/A401.
