CONFIRMATION OF INHERITANCE ACQUISITION IN THE PRACTICE OF POLISH COURTS – SELECTED ISSUES

Abstract

Amendment to the Civil Code rules on succession, introduced on 2 April 2009, extended the range of statutory heirs by more distant relatives than lineal parents and collateral siblings’ descendants, by including stepchildren within the range of statutory heirs. This article is an attempt of the author – academic lecturer and, at the same time, practising advocate – to reflect on the practical consequences of that legislative reform. In particular, the problem arose as to how the extension of the range of statutory heirs influences the efficiency and duration of court proceedings in matters for the confirmation of inheritance acquisition. The article presents the most crucial procedural problems, often following from inconsistent judicial practice, which lead to the protraction of court proceedings, both when we have to do with intestate and testamentary succession. Another question depicted is the causes of delivering two or more decisions confirming the acquisition of inheritance from the same deceased person and methods of eliminating such defective rulings from legal practice. The presented problems should provide a stimulus for necessary legislative amendments in this area.