This guide walks you through what needs doing after someone close to you dies, from the first hours to roughly a year later. You do not have to do everything at once: most deadlines are counted in weeks and months, and the funeral home can handle some of the paperwork for you. Take it one step at a time and tick off what is done.

First (day 0)

• Confirming the death. Death is confirmed by the doctor who treated the person in their last illness or by the head of the ambulance team. If neither is possible, the examination is done by a doctor or a person appointed by the starosta (county head). The family does not pay for this. The doctor issues the karta zgonu (death certificate form), which you will need at the USC (Civil Registry Office).
• Sudden or suspicious death. Call the police. The prosecutor may order a post-mortem.
• Funeral home. The right to bury the deceased belongs to the closest family in this order: spouse, children and grandchildren, parents and grandparents, collateral relatives up to the 4th degree, in-laws in the direct line of the 1st degree. Anyone who voluntarily takes it on may also arrange the burial.
• Take from the folder: the deceased's ID card, funeral wishes (burial or cremation, religious or not, place), the document giving the right to the family grave, the list of people to notify, information about a funeral policy or money set aside for the funeral.
• Secure: keys, pets, the home (stove, water), the car, any firearms, documents, phone, computer and other data carriers.

Within 3 days

• Register the death at the USC. You file the karta zgonu within 3 days of it being issued, or within 24 hours in the case of an infectious disease. The person entitled to arrange the burial registers the death, in practice often the funeral home acting on your authorisation. The USC draws up the akt zgonu (death record) on the day of registration.
• Copies of the death record. You get one short copy free of charge. Further copies cost a stamp duty fee. Many institutions check the death in electronic registers, but some still want paper, so order several copies.
• The deceased's ID card becomes invalid at the moment of death. The family registering the death can ask to keep the cancelled card as a keepsake.
• Set the funeral date with the funeral home. The law does not fix it directly, and the funeral home knows the details.

First week

• Funeral grant (zasiłek pogrzebowy): 7 000 zł (for deaths from 1.01.2026). It goes to the person who paid for the funeral. A family member gets the full amount regardless of the cost; someone outside the family gets back documented costs up to 7 000 zł. You apply to ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), KRUS (farmers' social insurance, same amount) or the uniformed services. Only one grant is paid. Since 2026 the funeral home can apply for you and ZUS transfers the money straight to its account, so you do not have to pay the whole sum up front. Payment within 14 days. Deadline to apply: 12 months from the death.
• Funeral costs from the deceased's account. The bank pays the person who brings the funeral bills the amount spent on the funeral (within what is customary). You do not have to wait for the inheritance case. An investment fund (TFI) does the same by redeeming the deceased's units.
• Payable-on-death instructions. If the deceased named someone at a bank, SKOK (credit union) or TFI, that person comes in with the death record and their ID. This money is not part of the estate.
• Survivor's pension (renta rodzinna). Apply to ZUS no later than the month after the month of death, and the pension will be paid from the day of death. If you apply later, it is paid only from the month you apply. Example: death on 20 October, application by 30 November. More in the amounts section below.
• The deceased's pension. Do not spend money that arrived after the day of death. The bank returns it to ZUS from the deceased's account. Benefits owed to the deceased up to the day of death (not yet paid) go to the spouse and children, first to those who shared a household with the deceased. Deadline: 12 months.
• The deceased's employer. The employment contract ends on the day of death. The last salary and holiday pay in lieu go in equal shares to the spouse and to people entitled to the survivor's pension, outside the estate. There is also a death gratuity (see Work).
• Family health insurance. If the spouse or children were registered with the NFZ (National Health Fund) through the deceased, that cover most likely ends. Check your status at your clinic (eWUŚ, the insurance check system) or with the NFZ and register on another basis, for example through your own employer or the job centre.

First 30 days

• Look for a will: at home, in a safe, with the notary named in the folder. Any notary can search the NORT (Notarial Register of Wills) once you show the death record. The register shows where a will is, not what it says. Take a handwritten will to the court or a notary to have it opened and announced (at a notary max. 50 zł net).
• Establish who inherits: an APD (notarial certificate of inheritance) or an application to court (100 zł). Without one of these documents, the bank, ZUS, PPK, BIK, KIR and the vehicle registration office will not release money or information to you. The two routes are compared under Inheritance.
• Central Account Information (CIR). Once you have the APD or the court decision, apply at any bank or SKOK. The report lists the deceased's accounts in all banks and SKOKs.
• Rented flat. Notify the landlord. Close family who lived permanently with the deceased can take over the tenancy (see Property).
• Notifications: banks, phone and internet providers, electricity, gas, water, the housing community or cooperative, insurers, subscriptions, the post office, the clinic, the municipal office, PFRON or MOPS (disability fund, social welfare centre, if the deceased received anything from them). Many companies will ask for a copy of the death record.
• Firearms. Without delay, hand them in for deposit at the police or sell them to a person with a permit. Possessing a firearm without a permit is a crime. The deposit costs are borne by the person who took over the weapon.
• Car. The OC (compulsory third-party motor insurance) passes to the heirs. You can cancel it in writing.
• The deceased's business. If the deceased ran a sole proprietorship and did not appoint a zarządca sukcesyjny (succession manager) during their lifetime, the heirs have 2 months from the death to do so before a notary.

Within 6 months

• Accept or reject the inheritance. You have 6 months from the day you learned you are an heir. If you do nothing, you accept the inheritance with the benefit of inventory. If you suspect debts, reject the inheritance or accept it with the benefit of inventory and file an inventory list. Details under Inheritance.
• Notify the tax office (SD-Z2) if you are close family. Deadline: 6 months from the court decision becoming final or from the APD being registered. This keeps you from paying tax.
• Land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta). The application to enter the heirs is filed without delay. With an APD, from 17.03.2026 the notary can file it electronically for you.

Within a year and later

• 12 months from death: the deadline for the funeral grant and for collecting benefits not paid to the deceased.
• 30 April of the following year: the spouse may file a joint PIT (income tax return) with the deceased spouse for the year of death.
• 2 years: succession management of the business ends, unless the court extends it to 5 years from death.
• 5 years: the claim for zachowek (forced share) and the claim under an ordinary legacy become time-barred. After 5 years, counted from the end of the year in which the deceased bought or built a property, selling it does not trigger PIT. Under the housing relief in inheritance tax you must also live in the inherited home for 5 years.

Inheritance

The will

A valid will can be:

• handwritten: written entirely by hand, signed and dated,
• notarial: drawn up by a notary,
• oral before an official (mayor, starosta, head of the USC and others) with 2 witnesses, recorded in a protocol,
• special (oral with 3 witnesses when death is feared imminent, made while travelling, military). It loses force 6 months after the circumstances that justified it end.

An audiovisual will is not valid. It existed only in a draft law.

Notary (APD) or court

A registered APD has the same effect as a final court decision.

Accepting or rejecting the inheritance

You have three options: simple acceptance (no limit on liability for debts), acceptance with the benefit of inventory, or rejection. You make the declaration before a court (100 zł) or a notary (50 zł net). It cannot be withdrawn or made conditional. Filing an application to court within the 6 months is enough. Silence means acceptance with the benefit of inventory.

When you reject the inheritance, your children take your place. If a debt is to bypass the whole family, each next heir also has to reject.

Benefit of inventory

You are liable for debts only up to the value of what you inherited. That value comes from the wykaz inwentarza (inventory list you prepare yourself at court or a notary, on a form) or the spis inwentarza (inventory made by a bailiff on request, 100 zł fee plus bailiff costs). If you knowingly leave out assets or add a non-existent debt, the protection is lost. The list of assets and debts in the folder helps a great deal here.

Debts

Until the estate is divided, the heirs are jointly liable for debts; after division, in proportion to their shares. The same applies to the deceased's unpaid taxes. A co-borrower remains liable for the whole loan. Check whether a loan, card or credit had life insurance attached: it may pay off the debt.

Zachowek (forced share)

Children (and further descendants), the spouse and parents who would inherit by law but were left out by the will or by gifts are entitled to half of their statutory share, in money. If the person entitled is a minor or permanently unable to work, two thirds. The claim becomes time-barred 5 years after the will is announced (against people who received gifts, from the opening of the inheritance). Disinheritance, meaning removal of the forced share, is only possible in a will and only for reasons listed in the law and written in the will.

Children under 18

A parent can reject an inheritance on behalf of a child only with the consent of the family court. File for consent before the 6 months run out. The deadline is paused while that case lasts. A minor's forced share is two thirds of the statutory share.

Legacies, executor, division of the estate

• Vindication legacy (zapis windykacyjny) (notarial will only): the named person receives a specific item at the moment of death.
• Ordinary legacy (zapis zwykły): the named person can claim the item from the heirs. Time-barred after 5 years.
• Executor of the will: if one was named, the notary issues them a certificate (30 zł net).
• Division of the estate: by agreement (before a notary if there is real estate) or in court: 500 zł, 300 zł with an agreed proposal; together with ending co-ownership 1 000 zł or 600 zł.

Taxes

Close family: SD-Z2

The spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, stepchild, siblings, stepfather and stepmother (the so-called "zero group") pay no tax if they report the inheritance on form SD-Z2 (notification to the tax office) within 6 months of the court decision becoming final or the APD being registered. If you learn about an asset later, the 6 months run from the day you learned about it. No notification is needed if the value from that person over the last 5 years does not exceed 36 120 zł. Without notification you pay tax like group I.

Everyone else: SD-3

Other heirs file the SD-3 (inheritance tax return) within one month of the court decision becoming final or the APD being registered. If you learn of a new asset, you file a correction within 14 days.

What changed from 7.01.2026

• The tax obligation arises when the court decision becomes final, the APD is registered or a European Certificate of Succession is issued.
• The SD-3 deadline was cut from 6 months to one month.
• If you miss the SD-Z2 deadline through no fault of your own, you can apply to have it restored.
• If you do not file SD-Z2 on time, you have one month after the notification deadline to file SD-3.

Tax-free amounts and rates

Bracket thresholds: 10 278 zł and 20 556 zł. The group depends on your relationship to the deceased. If you are not sure which one applies, ask the tax office.

Housing relief: when you inherit a flat or house, value up to 110 m² is not taxed. Conditions include: you have no other home, you register as a permanent resident there, you live there and do not sell it for 5 years.

Income tax (PIT) of the deceased

• The heirs take over the deceased's tax rights and obligations. The tax office refunds any overpayment to the heirs according to their shares.
• The spouse may file a joint PIT with the deceased spouse for the year of death, by 30 April of the following year.
• Ask the tax office whether you need to file a return on behalf of the deceased. Practice varies.
• You can sell an inherited property without PIT after 5 years, counted from the end of the year in which the deceased acquired it.

Money

Payable-on-death instruction (dyspozycja wkładem na wypadek śmierci)

The account holder may have instructed the bank in writing to pay out after death to their spouse, parents, children or siblings. The limit is 20 times the average monthly wage for the month before death, in total for all instructions at a given bank. For a death in September 2026 it is 185 190,80 zł. The amount changes every month. This money is not part of the estate and you do not have to wait for the APD. If the instructions exceed the limit, the later one takes priority. A SKOK offers a similar arrangement; ask your credit union. The same limit applies to instructions at an investment fund (TFI), but not to joint registers.

Funeral costs from the account

Take the funeral bills to the deceased's bank. The bank pays these costs before other claims.

The account after death

• A personal account agreement ends on the day of death.
• A power of attorney for the account ends at death. Using the deceased's card or online banking after death is unlawful, even if you know the PIN and password.
• Joint account: the co-holder keeps using it, but the deceased's share (usually assumed to be half) is part of the estate.
• A business account continues if there is succession management.

Central Account Information (CIR)

With the APD or the court decision, apply at any bank or SKOK. The report lists accounts in all banks and SKOKs, including joint accounts and those closed after death. Banks reply within 3 working days. The fee depends on the bank, usually a few dozen złoty (ask the bank).

IKE, IKZE, PPK, PPE, OFE

• IKE and IKZE (individual retirement accounts): the money goes to the people named in the agreement, outside the estate. If nobody was named, it becomes part of the estate.
• PPK (employee capital plans): half of the funds covered by marital joint property goes to the spouse (by transfer or in cash at their request), the rest to the named people, or to the heirs if nobody was named. Payment within 3 months of an application with the death record.
• PPE (employee pension scheme): the nomination is usually in the enrolment form. Check with the employer or the institution running the scheme.
• OFE (open pension fund) and the ZUS sub-account: the spouse's part goes to their account, the rest to the named people or the heirs. Ask the OFE and ZUS.

Life insurance

Money from a policy paid to a named beneficiary is not part of the estate. Several beneficiaries without set shares split it equally. If nobody was named or the beneficiary died earlier, the money goes to the closest family in the order set in the policy terms. As far as we know, there is no single public register for finding a deceased person's policies. Look in the folder, bank statements, with the employer (group policy), the bank that granted a loan, and ask insurers, showing the death record.

Bonds, shares, crypto

• Treasury savings bonds: part of the estate; there is no payable-on-death instruction for them. After the APD, contact the bank that keeps the register.
• Brokerage account and shares: part of the estate. After the APD the brokerage moves them to the heirs' accounts. IKE and IKZE held at a brokerage have named beneficiaries.
• Crypto: inherited like other property, but without the recovery phrase (seed) or access to the exchange you realistically will not recover it. Exchanges have their own procedures for heirs and require the death record and an inheritance document. Beware of scammers promising to "recover" crypto. A sale by the heir may be taxable; ask an adviser.

Debts, BIK, loans

With the APD or court decision you can order a report from BIK (credit bureau) on the deceased's obligations (application by post). Check co-borrowers and the insurance attached to loans, cards and credit.

Property and car

• Land and mortgage register: apply to enter the heirs without delay; the fee is 150 zł regardless of the number of shares. The court can fine a slow owner 500 to 10 000 zł and cancels the fine once the right is entered. With an APD, from 17.03.2026 the notary can file electronically.
• Cooperative ownership right to a flat is part of the estate. A cooperative tenancy right expires. Ask the cooperative about any rights of close family.
• Tenancy: a rented flat's tenancy passes to the spouse (if not a co-tenant), the children of the deceased and of their spouse, people the deceased was legally obliged to support, and a partner in a de facto relationship, as long as they lived permanently with the deceased until death. If there is nobody like that, the tenancy ends. A flat the deceased let to others: the tenants now pay the heirs.
• Property tax: the heirs file a notice at the municipal office.
• Car: the OC passes to the heirs. You can cancel it in writing; otherwise it ends when the period runs out. You register the car to the heir within 30 days of the APD or the final court decision. Selling it before the estate is divided needs the consent of all heirs.
• Pets: the law treats an animal in the estate as property (with protection under the animal protection act). Check the folder for who was to look after it.

Business

• Sole proprietorship without a succession manager: the heirs have 2 months from the death to appoint one before a notary. This needs the consent of people holding together more than 85/100 of the shares. Until then they may only take steps to preserve the business.
• With a succession manager: the business carries on under the same NIP (tax ID), employment contracts do not end, the business account keeps working. Succession management lasts at most 2 years; the court may extend it to 5 years.
• Prokura (commercial power of attorney) does not end with the owner's death, only when it is removed from CEIDG (business register) or KRS (court register).
• Without a manager the CEIDG entry is deleted, and the account and contracts stop. Licences and permits may lapse.
• Companies: the rules depend on the articles of association. Check the current text and talk to the management board or a lawyer.

Work

• The employment contract ends on the day of death.
• Salary, holiday pay in lieu and bonuses pass in equal shares to the spouse and people entitled to the survivor's pension, outside the estate.
• Death gratuity (odprawa pośmiertna): 1 month's pay if employed by that employer for less than 10 years, 3 months' pay after 10 years, 6 months' pay after 15 years. Split equally among those entitled.
• Ask HR about group life insurance (often a higher payout, especially after an accident) and about PPK.
• Return work equipment (laptop, phone, cards). Check loans from the company social fund.

Deadlines

Amounts in 2026

Renta wdowia is available to a widow or widower who has reached retirement age (60 for women, 65 for men), if marital joint property lasted until death, the right to the survivor's pension arose no earlier than 5 years before retirement age, and they have not remarried. You choose: the survivor's pension plus part of your own pension, or your own pension plus part of the survivor's pension.

The survivor's pension is available, among others, to children up to 16, up to 25 while in education, and with no age limit if unable to work. A widow or widower receives it, among other cases, if they were at least 50 at the time of the spouse's death, are unable to work, or are raising a child entitled to the pension.

What not to do

• Do not pay the deceased's debts from your own money before you know how large they are and whether you will accept the inheritance.
• Do not use the deceased's card, online banking or online accounts. The power of attorney ended at death.
• Do not spend a pension that arrived after the day of death. The bank will return it to ZUS.
• Do not leave the inheritance decision to the last day, especially when there are children in the family. Court consent to reject on their behalf takes time.
• Do not sell the car or other items from the estate without the consent of the other heirs.
• Do not miss the survivor's pension deadline. Being one month late means losing the payment for that time.
• Do not keep the deceased's firearms at home without a permit.
• Do not respond to people who call offering to "recover" the deceased's money or crypto.

Sources

• Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 795
• Civil Status Records Act (Prawo o aktach stanu cywilnego), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 393
• Cemeteries and Burial Act (ustawa o cmentarzach i chowaniu zmarłych), Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1590
• Act on Pensions from the Social Insurance Fund (ustawa o emeryturach i rentach z FUS), Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1749, amended by Dz.U. 2025 poz. 718 and poz. 1159
• ZUS President's notices: M.P. 2026 poz. 150 (funeral grant) and M.P. 2026 poz. 220 (minimum benefits)
• Farmers' Social Insurance Act, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1770
• Banking Law (Prawo bankowe), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 38
• Investment Funds Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 60
• IKE and IKZE Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 91; PPK Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 192; Social Insurance System Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199
• Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 478, as amended (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1064 and 1854, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 775)
• Personal Income Tax Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592; Tax Ordinance, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 622
• Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245
• Land and Mortgage Register Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1066
• Notaries Act (Prawo o notariacie), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 614; regulation on maximum notarial fees, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1566
• Court Costs in Civil Cases Act, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1228
• Road Traffic Act, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1251; Compulsory Insurance Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 783
• Weapons and Ammunition Act, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 485
• Succession Management Act, Dz.U. 2021 poz. 170
• Housing Cooperatives Act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 889; ID Cards Act, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1753
• Legal texts: api.sejm.gov.pl (ELI); wages: stat.gov.pl (GUS); ZUS (zus.pl) and KIR (kir.pl) websites

This is information, not legal advice; the law is stated as of 4 October 2026.