What is an inheritance advance?

Losing a loved one is already a difficult experience, which is often accompanied by the need to settle complex legal and financial matters. In many cases, probate proceedings may take from several months to even several years, especially when real estate, multiple heirs, or cross-border elements are involved.

During this process, an important role is played by the concept of the inheritance estate accounting, regulated under Articles 1039–1043 of the Polish Civil Code. It concerns the rules for accounting for prior gifts and benefits granted by the deceased to heirs during their lifetime. In practice, this means that certain earlier transfers may be taken into account when dividing the estate, which can affect the final shares of the heirs.

Understanding inheritance estate accounting is particularly important in situations where one heir has previously received significant gifts or other benefits from the deceased. Such prior transfers may influence how the estate is ultimately distributed and can adjust the proportions between heirs during the division of the inheritance.

In this article, we explain how the mechanism of inheritance estate accounting works, when it applies, and what consequences it may have for the division of assets after a person’s death.

The realities of the duration of probate proceedings

Probate proceedings follow a defined legal path. Before the estate can be distributed, a formal process must take place: identifying the heirs, verifying the will (if one exists), settling outstanding debts, and in many cases also valuing real estate and fulfilling tax obligations.

In the case of foreign heirs, additional steps are required, such as collecting documents from abroad, obtaining certified translations, cooperating with Polish courts, and meeting cross-border legal requirements. It is therefore not surprising that the entire process typically takes from one to two years, and in disputed or complex cases even longer.

During this time, heirs are in theory entitled to their inheritance under the law, but in practice they cannot yet access it.

What is inheritance estate accounting?

What exactly is inheritance estate accounting (what is inheritance estate accounting)? It is a legal institution regulated under Articles 1039–1043 of the Polish Civil Code, which requires that certain lifetime gifts and benefits received from the deceased are taken into account when dividing the estate. Its purpose is to equalize the shares among statutory heirs.

How does inheritance estate accounting work? In practice, it means that if one of the heirs received specific benefits from the deceased during their lifetime (for example, a property, money, or other assets as a gift), their value may be added back to the estate for the purpose of calculating the division. As a result, that heir may receive a smaller portion of the estate, since part of their inheritance share has already been “advanced” during the deceased’s lifetime.

• Key features of inheritance estate accounting:

• No separate payment or financial claim. Inheritance estate accounting does not create an additional monetary entitlement—it is purely a mechanism for adjusting inheritance shares between heirs.
• Consideration of lifetime gifts. The value of gifts and certain bequests received from the deceased is included in the calculation.
• Principle of equal treatment of heirs. The mechanism aims to ensure fairness among statutory heirs.
• Possible exclusion from accounting. The deceased may decide that a specific gift will not be included in the estate accounting.

How does the accounting process work?

The typical stages of inheritance estate accounting are as follows:

• Determining the estate. The composition and value of the estate and the group of heirs are established.
• Identification of gifts. Lifetime transfers made by the deceased to heirs are analyzed.
• Calculation of the estate accounting. The value of gifts is added back to the estate to determine a “hypothetical” total estate value for division purposes.
• Distribution of assets. Based on this calculation, the final shares of each heir are determined.
• Settlement of differences. Heirs who previously received more than their share may receive a reduced portion of the estate or be excluded from additional distribution.

Practical application

Inheritance estate accounting does not require a separate contract or financial institution. It is a mechanism applied during the division of the estate, which can take place:

• in court proceedings, or
• before a notary (if all heirs agree).

Ultimately, its function is to ensure that the division of the estate takes into account not only the assets remaining at the time of death, but also any prior benefits transferred by the deceased during their lifetime.