Rejecting an Inheritance in Poland

My brother in Poland died in 2023 without a will and had debts. I understand Polish law is if you want to reject the inheritance, you have 6 months after being notified of this information. Well in my case, nothing was said by his family until early 2025 when his wife (living in Poland) was applying for her retirement pension (between brother's death and early 2025 we don't know where she was, not much contact with her).

Once she applied, the "debt loan" started to be deducted from her pension which would leave not much to live on. She decided to file for bankruptcy. That's when her son (living in Poland) decided to tell the rest of the family (only verbally, no official court document was provided to the family) to start proceedings on rejecting the inheritance so she can complete the bankruptcy process (court date set for October 2025).

Polish law states that even sibling's children and grandchildren need to file for rejection of inheritance (that's my situation). Some of my siblings live in Poland, so my nephew (deceased brother's son) made arrangements with a local notary to get the process going to complete documentation. Two other siblings are traveling to Poland to complete the documentation. Traveling to Poland for my two children, two grandchildren and myself is something we want to avoid. We all live in the US and are US citizens.

I cannot find an attorney in the US dealing with such legal Polish matters, have been directed to attorneys in Poland who do not want to discuss my situation (i.e., it's after 6 months, now what; how to complete documentation; is travel to Poland necessary, etc.) with payment first. The Polish Consular isn't much help either....we just certify the signature on a final document, will not help with completing the document. Is there someone on this site that has been in the same situation in the US? What are our rights in the US regarding international rejection of inheritance? Can we (children, grandchildren) enter Poland or the EU if we don't reject the inheritance? What happens now that it's been way past 6 months to reject an inheritance? Any help would be appreciated. I am at a loss and nowhere to turn to.

You can certainly enter the EU - don't worry about that.

Are your kids and grandchildren Polish citizens ? Have they ever visited Poland ? Are the grandchildren adults or still under 18 ?

My grandchildren are 11 and 13, US citizens, never visited Poland. My children are 42 and 35, US citizens, visited Poland when they were around 10. However, I have family in Poland (mother, siblings) and visit every few years.

For your kids and grandkids maybe just ignore it - the rules changed a few years ago and they can only be liable up to the value of any assets left by your brother.

For yourself, you can maybe give a pelnomocnictwo to one of your relatives to reject it on your behalf. But in any case the default state is as above - you can only be liable up to the value of any assets left over

The courts are several years behind in most civil issues - the simplest commercial registrations are often taking 6 months+ since lockdown.

Here is a useful page, up to date even if poorly written - if the amounts involved are large then contact a lawyer

dudkowiak.com/inheritance-in-poland/

Thank you for the info. Do you know where I would be able to have rejection of inheritance documentation completed in the United States? The Polish Consular is no help, they will certify the signature only, no help in completing the document.

There are plenty of examples on google and chat gpt

Oswiadczenie o odrzucenie spadku" as a prompt