Inheriting in Poland While Living in Germany: A Step-by-Step Guide

Disclaimer: This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances, and the matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

You're living in Frankfurt, Cologne or Munich, and news of a relative's death has just reached you from Poland. Now there's an inheritance in Poland to sort out while you live in Germany — a property, a bank account, sometimes debts too. The question is whether you can handle it remotely, without repeated trips back to Poland.

The answer is: yes, in most cases — but it takes a power of attorney set up in Poland, a handful of documents from Germany, and close attention to deadlines, the tightest of which is just six months. Here's the step-by-step order of what to do.

EU Regulation 650/2012 — why Germany makes this easier than the UK

There's good news if you live in Germany: EU Regulation 650/2012 (the "Succession Regulation") applies to both Poland and Germany — both are EU member states operating under the same, consistent legal regime for cross-border succession. That's a meaningful difference from the position of Poles living in the UK, where the Regulation has stopped applying since Brexit (1 January 2021), which complicates working out the applicable law and getting documents recognised.

Under Article 21(1) of Regulation 650/2012, the law governing the succession as a whole is, in principle, the law of the state where the deceased had their habitual residence at the time of death. In practice, for someone inheriting from a Polish relative who lived in Poland until their death and left assets there, Polish law applies — the Polish Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny, Articles 922–1088) — regardless of the heir living in Germany.

If, on the other hand, the deceased themselves lived in Germany but left assets in Poland, the position can be more complex — a choice of the law of nationality is possible (Article 22 of the Regulation), provided the will expressly makes that choice. Without such a clause, German law as the law of habitual residence may end up governing the succession. ⚠️ This needs verification — in these situations, it's worth consulting a lawyer before taking any formal steps.

For most practical cases — a Pole living in Germany inheriting from a parent or other relative who died in Poland — the whole procedure runs under Polish law.

Power of attorney from Germany — a German notary plus apostille, or the Polish consulate

Since you don't need to appear in person at every Polish office and before every notariusz (Polish civil-law notary), you need a power of attorney set up from Germany — authorising a person (a family member, a trusted friend, or a Polish lawyer) to act on your behalf in Poland.

There are two routes for issuing the power of attorney.

Route 1 — a German notary (Notar) plus an apostille

• A German notary (Notar) drafts the power of attorney (Vollmacht) and certifies your signature.
• The document then needs an apostille — an international certificate of authenticity under the 1961 Hague Convention. In Germany, apostilles for notarial documents are issued by the relevant regional court (Landgericht) or another authority designated by the notary, depending on the federal state (Land).
• Important: EU Regulation 2016/1191, which removes the legalisation requirement for certain public documents circulating between EU member states, does not exempt notarial powers of attorney from the apostille requirement. In other words — even though both Germany and Poland are in the EU, an apostille is still needed for the power of attorney.
• A power of attorney drafted in German must be translated into Polish by a sworn (certified) translator before it can be used before a Polish court or notary.

Route 2 — the Polish consulate in Germany (no apostille needed)

The alternative is to have the power of attorney drawn up before a Polish consul — Polish consular posts in Germany are located in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich and Leipzig, among others. The consul performs a function equivalent to that of a Polish notary, and a document drawn up before a consul does not require an apostille — it's treated as a Polish official document.

Practical differences between the two routes:

Which route to choose depends on appointment availability at the consulate and how urgent the matter is — if the 6-month deadline for the succession declaration is approaching and the next available consular appointment is too far off, the notarial route may be faster.

The 6-month deadline for accepting or rejecting an inheritance (Article 1015 of the Civil Code)

This is the single most important deadline in the whole procedure, and the most common source of trouble for heirs living abroad.

Under Article 1015 § 1 of the Polish Civil Code, you have six months from the day you learned of your entitlement to inherit (usually the date of death, or the date you found out about it) to file a declaration:

• accepting the inheritance (either outright, or with limited liability for debts — known as acceptance with the benefit of inventory, z dobrodziejstwem inwentarza),
• or rejecting the inheritance.

If you do nothing within that period, the consequence is automatic: under the general rule (Article 927 et seq. of the Civil Code), no declaration within the deadline is treated as acceptance with the benefit of inventory — meaning liability for the deceased's debts is capped at the value of the estate's assets. Despite that safety net, it's best not to leave this to the last minute — particularly when you don't have a clear picture of the deceased's financial situation.

How do you file the declaration while living in Germany?

The declaration is filed before the district court (sąd rejonowy) with jurisdiction over the deceased's last place of residence in Poland, or before a notary (Article 1018 of the Civil Code allows the notarial form, which is then forwarded to the succession court's file).

A practical remote procedure looks like this:

1. You decide on the content of the declaration (outright acceptance, acceptance with the benefit of inventory, or rejection).
2. Your representative in Poland — acting under the power of attorney issued in Germany (via a Notar plus apostille, or via the Polish consulate) — files the declaration with a notary or the district court.
3. The notary or the court issues confirmation that the declaration has been filed.
4. Your representative sends you a copy of that confirmation (by email or post).

The Polish consulate cannot itself accept a declaration of acceptance or rejection of an inheritance — it can only assist organisationally (for example, pointing you to a notary or a representative in Poland). Formally, the declaration must reach a Polish court or notary.

APD from a notary, or a court order — which route for an inheritance from Germany

Once the declaration has been filed, you need formal confirmation that you are, in fact, an heir. There are two routes.

Certificate of Succession (APD) — the notarial route

A notary in Poland, acting under Articles 976–989 of the Civil Code, issues an Akt Poświadczenia Dziedziczenia (APD) — a notarial Certificate of Succession — provided:

• there's no dispute among the heirs about who inherits and in what shares,
• the paperwork is complete (death certificate, any will, heirs' identity documents).

Your representative supplies the notary with: the power of attorney (from Germany, either apostilled or issued at the consulate), the death certificate, identity documents, any will and — if the estate includes real property — an extract from the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta, the Polish land registry). The notary typically issues the APD within 2–4 weeks, in at least two counterpart copies.

A court order — the judicial route

If the notary declines to issue an APD (for example, because the heirs are in dispute, or the paperwork is incomplete), the matter goes to the district court with jurisdiction over the deceased's last place of residence, under non-contentious proceedings (Article 669 et seq. of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure — confirmation of acquisition of inheritance). This route is slower, measured in months rather than weeks, and usually calls for a Polish lawyer (adwokat or radca prawny).

Division of the estate and property in Poland

If more than one person inherits — for example, you and your siblings — the confirmation of succession (APD or court order) alone doesn't close the matter. The estate still needs to be divided among the heirs, a process called division of the estate (dział spadku, Articles 1035–1046 of the Civil Code).

• Consensual division before a notary — if all the heirs agree, the notary draws up a division agreement. All heirs (or their representatives) must be present when it's signed.
• Judicial division — if the heirs can't reach agreement, the matter is decided by the district court. This route is longer and more expensive.

If the estate includes property in Poland, once the division is complete (or immediately after the APD, if you're the sole heir), you'll need an entry in the land and mortgage register — your representative files an application with the relevant district court (land registry division) based on the APD or the court order.

Inheritance tax — the SD-Z2 form and its deadline

Every heir is required to settle inheritance and gift tax (under the Act of 28 July 1983), unless they qualify for an exemption.

Key facts:

• Tax Group I (spouse, children, grandchildren, parents) — rates of 3–7%, though filing form SD-Z2 within the statutory deadline can secure a full exemption for close family.
• The deadline for filing SD-Z2 is six months from the date the tax obligation arises (as a rule, from the court order becoming final, or the APD being registered).
• The form can be filed in person at the tax office (urząd skarbowy) with jurisdiction over the deceased's last place of residence, by post (via your representative in Poland), or electronically if you have access to the e-Urząd Skarbowy system.
• Missing the six-month SD-Z2 deadline means losing the right to the exemption — the tax then has to be paid on standard terms, at the rate applicable to your tax group.

The SD-Z2 form and detailed rules are available on the Polish Ministry of Finance's website (podatki.gov.pl).

Doing this remotely from Germany — a practical step-by-step order

1. Gather your documents — the deceased's full death certificate, any will, your own identity documents (including your PESEL number, if you have one).
2. Issue a power of attorney — via a German notary (Notar), with an apostille and a certified translation, or at the Polish consulate (Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig) — no apostille needed.
3. Appoint a representative in Poland — a trusted person or a Polish lawyer who will act on the ground.
4. File the declaration of acceptance or rejection of the inheritance — before the six-month deadline expires, counted from when you learned of the inheritance (Article 1015 of the Civil Code).
5. Obtain an APD from a notary or a court order — confirmation that you are an heir.
6. Carry out the division of the estate, if there's more than one heir.
7. File SD-Z2 at the tax office within six months, to claim the exemption (if you're entitled to it).
8. Arrange the land and mortgage register entry, if the estate includes property.

Where there's no dispute between heirs and no need to go to court, the whole process — from issuing the power of attorney to obtaining the APD and filing SD-Z2 — usually takes between two and four months.

FAQ

Do I need to travel to Poland to sort out the inheritance? In most cases, no. With a power of attorney issued through a German notary (with an apostille) or at the Polish consulate, your representative in Poland can handle nearly the entire process — from the declaration of acceptance, through the APD, to the land registry entry. Contested cases requiring a court hearing may be the exception.

Can the Polish consulate in Germany accept a declaration rejecting an inheritance? No. The declaration of acceptance or rejection of an inheritance must be filed before a Polish district court or notary — the consulate can only help organisationally, for example by issuing a power of attorney or pointing you to a notary in Poland.

As a Polish citizen inheriting property in Poland, do I need a permit to acquire the property? ⚠️ This needs verification. The Minister of the Interior and Administration's permit for acquiring real estate generally applies to foreign nationals (under the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners). If you're a Polish citizen inheriting assets in Poland, this requirement usually doesn't apply to you — even if you're permanently based in Germany. If you have any doubts about your particular situation (for example, dual nationality), it's worth confirming this with the notary handling your case.

What happens if I don't manage to file the declaration within six months? Missing the deadline results in acceptance of the inheritance with the benefit of inventory — you remain liable for the deceased's debts, but only up to the value of the estate's assets. Even so, it's advisable not to leave things to the last minute, since gathering documents and issuing a power of attorney from Germany can take several weeks.

Does a power of attorney from a German notary always need an apostille? Yes, for notarial powers of attorney. EU Regulation 2016/1191 simplifies the circulation of certain public documents (such as civil status certificates) between EU member states, but it doesn't cover notarial powers of attorney — these still require an apostille if they're to be used in Polish succession proceedings.

Legal basis

• Act of 23 April 1964 — Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), Book IV: Succession, Articles 922–1088, including Article 1015 (deadline for the declaration), Articles 976–989 (confirmation of acquisition of inheritance), Articles 1035–1046 (division of the estate) — isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish)
• Act of 28 July 1983 on inheritance and gift tax — isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish)
• SD-Z2 form and tax settlement rules — podatki.gov.pl (in Polish)
• Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession — applies to both Poland and Germany as EU member states

Related articles: - Inheritance after a Polish relative living in the UK — what you should know (in Polish) - Inheritance tax — Poland and the UK — how to avoid double taxation (in Polish) - How to sort out a Polish inheritance remotely while living in the UK (in Polish)

Disclaimer: This material is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Twoja Sprawa is an information and coordination platform that connects users with a regulated adwokat or radca prawny (Polish lawyer) — it is not a law firm. Every succession matter needs to be assessed individually, involving a notary and, where necessary, a lawyer. The platform does not guarantee any particular outcome.