"Zachowek" means that even if the dead bequeathed his/her property in Poland..

"Zachowek" means that even if the dead bequeathed his/her property to people other than his/her children or wife, or siblings (if s/he doesn't have children),

the wife, the children (or the siblings) may claim a part of his/her property

The above quote was lifted from another post.

We are approaching the 6 month anniversary of my mother in-laws death. If all of the children agree on the division of the estate (unequal), what should be done to legalize the arrangements so there are no problems later? The only real value is a small flat in the country. It is rumored my mother in-law listed one sibling on the deed to inherit the flat. Things are a little muddled since she didn't keep good records. Everything is amicable at the moment so I would like to legalize that sentiment.

Thanks

Merged: "zachowek" ( Legitim ) Can anyone explain how this works?

I have a question-
My grandmother passed away, leaving my cousin everything in her Will. I now have another relative that has come forward and wants to split a "zachowek". Is this zachowek taken out of what was left for my cousin in the original will? If it is, I don't want want anything, I hardly knew my grandmother, and this cousin took care of her for the last 15-20 years of her life, so I feel my cousin deserves it. I don't know how it all works, and all the legal jargon is confusing.

I'm worried that if I don't take it, this relative may get a part of my zachowek as well, if it gets split amongst fewer people. Is this how it works? If so, can I take it and give it to my cousin who was the original benefactor?

Hello,
You're entitled to zachowek (legitim) if your parents passed away. You don't just accept it, you must claim it to receive it. It is possible that your claim diminishes the claim of your other relative. After it is given to you, you can donate it back to the main successor.

If you speak polish, you can check more on: spadek.com.pl

It's called 'legitime' and comes from Roman law, which is what Polish law is based on. It's a way of ensuring that people aren't disinherited unfairly in a will - it doesn't exist in the US or UK. There are a number of factors that come into the calculation, but in the most straightforward case your cousin will have to pay everyone who qualifies (next of kin) a cash sum equivalent to half of what that person would have received if the will had treated all of you equally. If any of the next of kin are disabled or under age, they get a bigger share than half. I think that everyone has to be offered zachowek but most people decline it. Whether you decide to take it up or not doesn't make any difference to the relative who wants it.

- that's incorrect. It doesn't have to be offered. It can be paid voluntarily but frequently it isn't so you have to claim it.


--> in some cases it can make a difference; in most cases it doesn't indeed.

Thank you all so much, this is very helpful. I'm from the US so I had no idea how it all worked.