Order of statutory inheritance in the Polish legal system

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the order of statutory inheritance in the Polish legal system. Undoubtedly, the issue of inheritance has always aroused interest among representatives of legal scholarship and executors of the law. Death is an integral element of every person’s life. For this reason, it seems justified to consider the issue of the grounds for inheritance, especially given that Polish legal provisions provide for two grounds for inheritance — by will and by law. The introduction of the article outlines the main provisions that manifest the principle of “universal succession” in Polish inheritance law. Next, the doctrinal grounds of statutory inheritance in Polish civil law are considered. Statutory inheritance, comprehensively regulated by the Civil Code of Poland, is based on the so-called “concept of the implied will of the testator”, the justification of which is the assertion of justice in society. It is believed that heirs by law are both the most suitable heirs from the point of view of morality of a given society, and the most suitable heirs from the point of view of the alleged will of the testator. Thus, a group of persons entitled to inheritance is established. However, such an approach is more logically explained by the socalled “theory of debt” and “theory of social interest” than by the “concept of the implied will of the testator”. The purpose of this article is to present the prerequisites for calling for inheritance, as well as a way to determine the group of subjects entitled to inheritance by law, indicating the size of the shares to which heirs are entitled. The author separately examines the grounds and procedure for calling spouses, children and other descendant testators, as well as his parents and other ascenders, as well as brothers and sisters and some other categories of heirs to inheritance. The issue of inheritance by a local community or State Treasury is considered separately. The article concludes with a summary in which the author evaluates the current legislative decisions.