Last will in Poland - (can a stranger inherit everything?)

sorry i created an extra account there to reply.

going over what has been said am I understanding this wrong,

because the will is in Poland and will be executed in Poland does that mean even if the girlfriend gets everything the court will tell her to pay the family a portion.

so for example the assets are worth 100 then she is entitled to 50 and then 50 will be allocated to his 2 brother and sister and the daughter (just immediate family)

so she will own everything but still be required to pay the family a court decided amount.

she will then have to go to America and sort out getting everything signed over to her and pay for the legal fees and tax's ect but still have to pay the 50% to the family.

wishfull thinking maybe but fun to think even if she gets everything after paying the taxs and portion she will be left with a lot less than she thinks

@adze1986

No. By law, the estate is divided into two portions, the reserved portion, which is distributed among decedents in accordance with a legal formula, and the free portion, which is distributed according to the will. The court is responsible for diving up the assets accordingly, and everyone gets their due only at the end of the proceedings. She will owe your partner nothing from her portion, and vice versa.

Like I said before, inheritance in civil law is totally different than inheritance in common law.

Again, hire a good lawyer and let them do their job. They know what to do.

you really need a lawyer.
But if the will is to be executed in Poland,then I would have thought that under Napoleonic type law, children have to inherit.
this is different from the UK and USA, where as you say, you are entitled to leave your wealth to whoever you like.

Here's a wikipedia article that explains how it works: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_heirship

The court divides the estate, not the assets. I'm not sure of the exact proportions (or how close the circle of entitled relatives goes), but the principle means it works out as the OP says above :


Under Polish law, his partner will be entitled to $$$ and not necessarily bricks and mortar, making it doubly important to get a lawyer in Poland involved, so the cash doesn't mysteriously disappear.

As we understand it at the moment she has been left I. Control of everything does that mean she is responsible for making the bricks and mortar into $$$? Does anyone know if once the will is enacted or however it works does it become an open document, for example at the moment my partner can not gain any details of the will at, once it goes to court can she get a copy to check its legality on the assets in New Jersey, as I understand it if it is not legal in New Jersey then the state says they died interstate or somthing like that and stuff gets even more complicated

@Adze86

Really, no one on this forum is going to be able to answer your questions to your satisfaction. That is what your attorney is for. If your looking for free legal advice, remember that it is worth every penny you pay for it. Which is nothing at all.

Just relax and leave it in the hands of the court and your attorneys. There's really nothing else you can do. And, like I said, ditch the acrimony and drama. It might play well on TV, but it is strongly frowned upon in court, especially in civil law proceedings.

Hi, things took a whole new turn yesterday and it turns out long long story sort that her parents moved back to Poland 7 years ago and told what can be only described as a colossal lie. So her mother died in Poland not America, after everything you have let me know about the polish way of doing things I can't understand how she was never informed of this when her mother died, she would have had a will or even if not don't they contact anyone who can inherit? She had no idea and nobody told her. Her father just kept up the lie telling her the funeral was in New Jersey.

Usually the spouse inherits everything at this point, so there would have been no reason to tell her.

In this case, you should find a lawyer willing to take the case on for no-win-no-fee. I've got a contact to one that will do it - the fees if you win will be quite high, but they won't charge you a thing before the conclusion of the process.

I'm not sure but I think that if the deceased had children and there was no last will, they get part of the inheritance.