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My late fathers Polish will made in 1987


janieski 1 | 3
22 Mar 2016 #1
Hello,
Where do I start? My late father owned a property in Poland which he bough in early 1980's, My father then died in late 1988, my father had legal issues ongoing to do with the said property for many years due to his own brother and then his brothers family unwilling to move out of this property ( he had rented it out to his brother previously), anyhow, Father died, my mother was still alive then, and I was aged 20 then, I was informed by my mother that as far as she was aware, the property was still being taken care of by solicitors and it was ongoing and my two middle aged brothers were going to carry on with the onslaught of trying to evict the family that refused to get out, and also I was told a will was made for the property that was lodged in local courts out there, I was under the assumption, same as my mother, that will was property left to my mother and then after her death to do to the children, anyhow that how it wa left, I knew my brothers tried dealing with the legal matters on and off for years and kept coming to dead ends with it all as now people in there were claiming they were ill etc so it got stuck to the side ways as we all got on with life such as having children and bringing them up and working etc, fast forward, my mother died in late 2008, there was a property involved in her estate, and now my eldest brother has had to try and fight for this as this property in uk is part owned with a middle brother, who yet he refuses to acknowledge my late mothers part ownership of it, even though law clearly states she did, so solicitors have had to be involved etc, and what transpired now in the exhibits my middle brother has provided in his statement as this now may go to court as my late fathers will i.e property in Poland was mentioned as part of my late mothers estate, we have now seen the will ONLY just recently in the last month for VERY first time, and it shows its been left to ONLY my two middle brothers and was made in 1987 , we dont have a clue at this point when this will was "read" and when did the court initiate this either, yet I remember it was the year this will was made/changed my father was very sick and had been going though chemotherapy and other drugs he was taking and it was his last ever visit to poland that summer, My eldest brother and myself we believe my father was duped or cohorted in changing his will whilst in Poland in the summer on 1987 to benefit these two brothers of mine only! I am having such trouble trying to find any advice legally about this, and wondered if anyone can help me here, finding an english speaking polish solicitor out in Poland from this side is proving very difficult, What I want to know is this, can a father leave his wife who was alive at the time out of a polish will, ( my father lived in england and died in england too) and can he also leave out his other son and his only daughter ( myself) and also to add I have a half brother from my fathers previous marriage as well.? Can this be done legally? I am shocked that this has happened, I cannot get my head around it as to why my father would not leave the property to his wife who they were married for many years,,we was under the illusions as much as my late mother was as well it was left to her and then "us" siblings will follow to receive after mothers death, we never thought to even question family like this, also anyone have any guidance on english speaking solicitors based in the pomorskie area of Poland please?

Many thanks for reading and I await any advice.
rozumiemnic 8 | 3,861
22 Mar 2016 #2
Under English law a person can leave their property to who they like, unless it could be proven that they were of unsound mind when the will was made. You say it is a 'Polish will' but, if your dad lived and died in England, then it is an English will surely?

Sorry for your troubles x
OP janieski 1 | 3
22 Mar 2016 #3
Thanks for the reply! The will as I stated above was made and lodged in poland, he left NO will in england what so ever.
rozumiemnic 8 | 3,861
22 Mar 2016 #4
oh sorry but your post is really hard to read as it is not broken into paragraphs.

I don't think a citizen of one country can just go to another and make a will under that law. But I wait to be corrected..:)
OP janieski 1 | 3
22 Mar 2016 #5
You could always turn it into paragraphs yourself if you really wanted to :) is there anyone with knowledge on polish law on here please, not opinions only, as it clogged up the post. Thanks
Pol attorney 2 | 106
22 Mar 2016 #6
As a Polish lawyer I would give you the following piece of legal advice:

1) if your father left out from his will his daughter ( or other children) as well as his wife, you will still be entitled to receive "zachowek" under Polish law (just because of the fact that you are a child or a wife of the deceased)

2) in some cases it may be legally possible to "undermine" the will of your father if he was duped or forced into changing his last will by his sons

3) it will be necessary to submit in Polish court a petition for the acquisition and splitting of the estate
Atch 22 | 4,096
22 Mar 2016 #7
under Polish law

But were the laws the same in Communist times? The will was made in 1987 so would the law of that time apply or would present day law apply?

if he was duped or forced

Yes, but her problem would be proving that in court. It would be very difficult to do that convincingly.

Of course there is the possibility that the will was not genuine, but a forgery, easy to forge a signature.........plenty of corrupt lawyers back then who would take a bribe.
Pol attorney 2 | 106
22 Mar 2016 #8
were the laws the same in Communist times?

Polish laws and provisions on "zachowek" haven't changed considerably in the last 50-60 years (under Polish law, it was never possible to leave out completely children or spouses from the last will). And in fact this is a right solution. If a wife worked for 40 years in the same farm, she OBVIOUSLY must be entitled to receive part of the estate even if the late husband for some reason, completely left her out from his will.

However, you are right as to the inheritance of Polish farmland -- there have been some major changes in legislation between 1945-2015.
rozumiemnic 8 | 3,861
22 Mar 2016 #9
You could always turn it into paragraphs yourself if you really wanted to :)

and how would I do that, exactly?

Love, it's a public forum. I think you will find that my 'opinion' is as useful as anyone else's advice here, (other than PolAttorney of course). You said your dad was an English citizen and resident....

Tell you what, pay for a lawyer instead of posting here...x


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