Knowledge base

It depends on what we mean by gaining access. From a purely technical point of view, if, on the basis of a valid court decision, we hand encrypted data to the police or a prosecutor, it will be impossible for them to read without your individual cryptographic key. We have no procedure or ability to hand over the files in plain (decrypted) form.

Yes. In ordinary document-storage services you get access to your files just by logging in. In Sejf Życia, simply entering the system does not let you read the data. To read it you also have to load your unique digital key (you create it after setting up your account; it is available only to you).

To further secure logging in, we recommend enabling two-factor authentication, which means entering an additional one-time code. By default the system sends the code to your email address, but we recommend configuring 2FA according to the instructions.

Yes. Every file or piece of information you place in Sejf Życia is first encrypted on your device (computer, phone or tablet) and only then sent to the safe’s space. When encrypting a document we use your unique access key, securing it in a way that makes access by third parties - and by us - practically impossible.

No, because the documents were encrypted on your device before being sent to Sejf Życia. All an administrator could see is a string of meaningless characters that is practically impossible to decrypt (it would take billions of years - to date no successful attempt to break the encryption algorithm we use has been documented).

Technology changes from day to day, and we adapt the safe’s protections on an ongoing basis. We meet the highest security standards recognised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), UOKiK, banks and insurance companies.

There is, however, always a minimal risk of a hacker attack. The way your documents are stored in Sejf Życia means that even if the data were stolen, it would be of no value to a hacker, because it is encrypted with a key that only you hold.

Yes - if you saved your login and password somewhere someone gained access to, e.g. on a note, an electronic note, browser memory or an unsecured file on a device. Even so, reading your files requires your individual key; without it no one can view or download the files.

Encryption is achieved by combining the best algorithms on the market, RSA and AES. To ensure even greater data security, in addition to encryption during data access we also use the Zero-Knowledge Proof methodology, which eliminates unauthorised attempts to access data.

Yes. If you consciously do not share a document with someone, for example a loved one, they will not gain access to it.

To make sure no one accesses data you want to keep secret after the safe is opened, set the “Mark as private data” option at the folder level. Thanks to this, after your death even the Account Guardian (your trustee) will not gain access to it.

Usually not. A leak of your PESEL number or the series and number of your ID card does not invalidate the document and is not in itself a reason to replace it. Replacement makes sense when a scan or photo of the card leaked, because someone then holds the full set of details together with the document's image. In both cases, reserving your PESEL number matters more and works faster.

No. Compensation requires civil proceedings and proof of damage or harm; case law on data breaches is still developing. In practice, protective steps deliver faster results than pursuing claims.

Usually from indirect signs: a wave of personalised phishing, text messages about login attempts and credit inquiries in BIK (the Polish credit bureau) that you never made. You can check an email address at haveibeenpwned.com. If you get a text message about a leak, do not tap the link: open the company’s website by typing the address yourself.

In most matters you will not notice a difference: the doctor, offices, work, travel and existing contracts work as before. The reservation only gets in the way of a new loan, a bank account, a notarial deed on a property, a duplicate SIM card or a large cash withdrawal at a branch. Then you lift it in mObywatel, the official government app, also for a set time.

Do the most important steps regardless of whether the phone was lost or stolen: block the SIM card with your carrier and turn on lost mode (remote lock and device location). Scale the rest - such as changing passwords or reserving documents from the app - to the risk: a phone lost in the woods is different from one snatched from your hand at a bus stop. If the phone turns up, all these safeguards can be undone.

Breaking the lock of a modern phone protected by a strong code is very hard. The bigger risk is a PIN watched over your shoulder beforehand, or a phone snatched from your hand while unlocked. What protects against that is a strong code, hidden notification content on the lock screen and the built-in theft protection features of iPhone and Android.

You block an eSIM with your carrier too; the upside is that it physically cannot be moved to another device. The reporting procedure is identical.

In order: unblock the SIM with your carrier, turn off lost mode, unblock banking, restore your mDowód (if you invalidated it, activate it again), and change PINs if there was any risk they were seen.

A note in your wallet - yes (it disappears together with your documents). A carefully kept notebook at home for a senior can be an acceptable compromise. For someone active online, a password manager is simply better in every respect.

Companies often have their own (business) managers. Do not mix vaults: private passwords in your private one, work passwords in the work one.

Partly yes, and it is an underrated benefit: autofill only works on the genuine domain. If the manager “refuses” to fill in your password on a bank page, that is a strong sign you are looking at a fake.

Sensible options exist in both models. Among the free ones, Bitwarden is worth recommending - it is open source, regularly audited, and encrypts passwords on your side, so its vaults have not been subject to any known serious data breach. In the paid version you mainly pay for sync convenience, family features and support - usually less than one coffee a month, which against the risk a manager reduces is a reasonable expense.

No. Losing an ID card is not an offence and carries no fine, and a replacement document is issued free of charge. Liability arises from using someone else's document. The real cost of delay is not a penalty but the window in which someone can use your card.

No. Once invalidated, a document stays invalid even if it turns up. Using it can cause trouble, for example at the border. Wait for the new ID.

Once your PESEL number and the document itself are flagged as reserved, it is very unlikely. Financial institutions have a statutory duty to check the reservation register before granting a loan, and an obligation taken out despite an active reservation cannot be effectively enforced. The real risk sits in the window between losing the document and flagging it.

Similarly: reserve it in the Reserved Documents (DZ) system, report theft to the police, and notify the passport office or the vehicle registration department respectively.

On a USB stick keep only 2-3 truly critical documents that may be useful during a blackout with no power or internet (for example a scan of your ID and your most important policy) - and be sure to encrypt it (e.g. VeraCrypt or hardware), because a plain stick with a full set of scans, once lost, is a ready-made identity-theft kit. It is better to keep the full set of documents organised in Sejf Życia: the stick shares the fate of the bag, whereas an encrypted vault accessible from any device does not.

Not in plain form. Instead: an indication of where the passwords are kept and emergency-access instructions. A sheet of passwords in the folder is an invitation to abuse.

Turn off default sharing, review album links, and keep the most private material in a zero-knowledge encrypted vault rather than an ordinary cloud.

What matters is not whether the scan is online but where it sits. In a safe with zero-knowledge encryption, access belongs to you and to the people you authorise. A scan in your mailbox, on an ordinary cloud drive or in your phone's gallery is readable by anyone who takes over that account.

To log in to the system you will use a login, which is your email address provided in the registration form. To log in you of course also need your account password, which you create when setting up or activating your account.

To protect your account against phishing, we recommend configuring two-factor authentication (2FA) - in that case the system may also ask you for a one-time authorisation code shown in an authenticator app (e.g. Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator) or sent to your email address.

You can recover your login password from the login screen. A lost encryption key can be recovered in your account settings, but only with the 6 recovery words you received when you created it. Sejf Życia does not store those words: without the key and without the recovery words, encrypted data cannot be read.

Yes. Sejf Życia is also prepared for such an eventuality - we use data centres in various locations across Europe. We provide access to your data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To access your documents all you need is internet access.

Yes, the safe is accessible from anywhere in the world. All you need is internet access.

Yes, currently 4 languages are available in the app: Polish, English, Ukrainian and Czech. Further languages are in preparation.

Sejf Życia is an application running in the cloud. This means that when you have no internet access you will not be able to use it, but don’t worry - Sejf Życia is resilient even to global internet failures, and as soon as your connection is restored you will be able to use your data from anywhere in the world.

Yes. Backups of the encrypted data are made daily as well as every minute. They are kept in two independent data centres. They are saved using WORM technology, which provides resistance to ransomware attacks.

Yes. The app is fully responsive, so it adapts to your phone’s screen on its own.

A single file can be up to 10 MB on iOS devices (a system limit) and up to 15 MB on other devices and in browsers. We do not support the DuckDuckGo browser.

When you log in from a new browser or a new device, such as a new phone, and every few logins, Sejf Życia asks for a 6-digit code. By default it arrives by email. In the settings you can switch to an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator.

No. The system does not version the documents and information saved in it. You can keep any number of files containing their different versions - how many, for how long and in what structure is entirely up to you.

Yes. To do this, enter the relevant area, select a folder, then select one or more documents, and choose the “Download selected” option.

Yes. The data you send to Sejf Życia is stored in a secured computing-cloud space - that is, differently than on your personal computer or smartphone.

All files and information that reach Sejf Życia are encrypted, and only you and the people you designate can read them. Thanks to cloud storage you no longer have to worry about what happens if your device breaks or you lose it in another situation (e.g. through theft).

Yes, but you should not store illegal material in the safe.

An additional limit is the single-document size of 15 MB (with the iOS exception of 10 MB). This does not, of course, apply to a farewell video. We are working on additional options that will allow storing large files.

Yes. Thanks to the safeguards in place, access to documents is held only by you and the people authorised for particular documents.

If you want to treat some information or documents as strictly private, you can simply not grant access to anyone, so they remain available only to you. And if you mark them as private data, you can be sure that even if the safe is opened, no one will see those files.

Yes. For photos the maximum size of one file is 15 MB. For video it is also 15 MB.

We are working on additional options allowing the storage of large files, including a farewell video, which will have a 512 MB limit.

You save documents in areas predefined in the safe:

• Home,
• Access,
• Finances,
• My will,
• Personal,
• Work,
• Family,
• Insurance,
• Health.

Within these areas you can create any folders into which you “put” your documents and information. You can name folders as you wish and create any number of them.

When you receive access to Sejf Życia from your provider (e.g. an employer, a service provider, an insurer), the list of areas may be extended with additional areas related to their activity.

Yes, you can. You can assign different people to different folders in which you keep your files in Sejf Życia.

Remember, however, that within a single folder you always grant access to its entire contents - it is not possible to share individual files from one folder with selected people. This makes it easy to decide who has access to which set of documents.

Yes, you can delete documents after adding them. Documents cannot be edited, because they are encrypted on your device, but you can view documents saved in popular file formats directly in the app.

To change a saved document, download it to your device, edit it and save it in the safe again.

Yes. You can set up several accounts in which you keep separate safes, e.g. using your private email address in one and your work address in another.

In some cases - if, for example, you do not run a large company or do not plan a complex document-sharing structure in a work safe - the “Work” or “Finances” area in your personal safe may be enough for this purpose.

It is possible and it raises protection, but it requires discipline and technical knowledge - and above all it does not solve access for your loved ones: an encrypted archive without the key and instructions is useless to your family.

No, and it should not. They are complementary tools: the cloud for everyday files, the vault for documents and information of life-critical importance.

Google offers Inactive Account Manager and Apple has a Legacy Contact feature. They are worth setting up, but they work at the level of a whole account and do not let you precisely control who sees what, or leave organised instructions. Treat them as a supplement, not a plan.

Reputable providers use redundant backups in certified data centres. Risk cannot be reduced to zero with any provider, so for your most important documents it remains good practice to also keep a physical copy.

A password manager solves one problem: it stores login credentials. A virtual vault is broader - it covers documents, instructions, dispositions and a mechanism for granting access to trusted people. The two tools complement each other well.

Documents are confirmation of the facts and decisions that shape our everyday life. Any of these documents may at some point determine your rights or your safety. Without them it is hard to prove anything to an office, a bank or a court - and also in private relationships.

A document confirms our private loan (here it will be an agreement), payment for purchases (a receipt or invoice), or a visit to a beautiful place (a printed photo); but a document also confirms that we have a company agreement or may run a business. Documents relate to the state of our health (e.g. test results, prescriptions) and our feelings (e.g. love letters, a marriage certificate, a separation-of-property agreement, a divorce decree).

No. Documents are not only confirmation of past events - they are also meant to produce effects in the future. In this way they secure our interests, rather than merely being evidence just in case.

This group includes, among others, all powers of attorney, confirmations of insurance, cryptocurrency keys and title deeds. The latter make us entitled to sell and to act in good faith.

These can be documents in both traditional, paper form and digital form - when we receive, for example, a contract by email or from our provider’s system, or conclude a contract remotely by means of electronic communication.

Yes, because most branches of law in Poland assume that a given document is at the same time confirmation of a specific entitlement of ours. Documents are therefore the basis for obtaining social benefits, property rights or protection against other people’s claims.

For example, without a title deed you may not manage to sell a flat, and without the details of a policy you will not quickly receive compensation. It is documents that prove what you are entitled to. In other words, without such documents you will not be able to carry out these actions and receive money.

No, because documents are also connected with private events. They can confirm travels, private relationships, achievements, decisions and family events.

Yes, because diplomas, certificates, awards or references are something more than a piece of paper - they are proof of your knowledge, work and personal development. They confirm achievements and make it easier to move to the next stage of your career.

It matters because when an accident, illness or sudden death of a loved one occurs, documents become the key to resolving the difficult situation and to carrying out inheritance proceedings.

Polish inheritance law is based on the principle that, although a person dies, their rights do not. Property, savings and debts pass to legal successors (heirs). And it is documents that make it possible to identify the deceased’s assets and debts. Without them this is very often impossible.

Without a power of attorney it will also be impossible to handle private, business and financial matters on our behalf when we are in a coma, unconscious or deprived of liberty.

A good emergency instruction answers the questions loved ones ask in the first hours and days of a sudden situation: who to contact, who will take care of the children, an elderly person or pets, which matters are urgent (work, bills, the business) and where to find the basic documents.

It helps to divide it into a plan for the first 24 hours, actions for the first week, and a list of people with assigned roles - from the primary contact to the accountant or doctor. For security reasons the instruction should not contain passwords, PINs or card details - it is enough to point to where that information is safely stored, for example in Sejf Życia.

No. An emergency instruction is an organisational document - it structures information, contacts and duties, but it has no legal effect. Disposing of your estate upon death requires a will, and authorising someone to act on your behalf requires a power of attorney in the appropriate form.

The two kinds of documents complement each other well, though: the instruction tells your loved ones that a will or power of attorney exists, where it is and who to turn to for help. In practice it is the lack of such guidance - not the lack of formal documents - that most often delays handling matters in a sudden situation.

Yes. In a Polish civil case an official document proves what the authority certified in it, and a private document proves that the person who signed it made the statement it contains. Instead of the original you can file a copy certified by a notary or by the advocate or legal adviser acting in the case, but the court may ask for the original.

Yes, because an agreement, an invoice or a transfer confirmation is the main argument for a counterparty to pay, and for a court to award the obligation to pay in a lawsuit.

No documents means no evidence. The counterparty may dispute your claim, and although the existence of a debt can be confirmed by witness testimony, a paper document speeds up all the steps enormously.

Travelling is connected with documents. Moving between countries is possible with a passport (sometimes an ID card), a driving licence, a travel policy, a vaccination card. All of these are documents.

Sometimes they can decide whether you will travel at all, cross the border, or receive help in case of illness in another country.

Bear in mind that while travelling we should have access not only to travel documents. In an emergency, outside the country, it may be necessary, for example, to provide our medical records, to sell cryptocurrencies or securities that are losing value, or to access key company documents, e.g. during a sudden tax inspection.

Yes - these are private documents. Letters, photos, school certificates or family keepsakes are not just papers - they are the memories and history of your family. They are often priceless and impossible to recreate.

Yes, because documents are part of our legacy and the memory of us. They tell the story of our life.

Things such as diplomas, letters or photos are part of the heritage we leave to our family. Our legacy is made up not only of property, but also of non-material assets.

Yes, because documents such as a will, gift agreements, policies or powers of attorney make it possible to secure the continued functioning of your loved ones. It is precisely on the basis of these documents that support for them is activated.

Ultimately, then, our loved ones will not be able to receive assets or money if they do not hold the documents that give them specific entitlements.

An administrative procedure - that is, handling a matter at an office - requires a document. Our law assumes that an official matter is initiated by a written application or request. Proceedings, including before an administrative court, are conducted on documents. Witness testimony is the exception. Without holding the required documents we may not be able to settle a matter at all.

Enough to cover 2-3 days of a family’s basic expenses: fuel, food, lodging. In small denominations, because in a crisis no one will give change from a 200-złoty note.

Don’t push. First put your own affairs in order and bring it up naturally, in passing - setting an example and giving it time work better than persuading. A concrete, low-pressure starting point helps. You could suggest, for example, that you sit down together and write on a single sheet where the most important documents are and who to call in an emergency. Sometimes it also helps to involve someone the parent trusts, such as their family doctor.

No, not until they provide it themselves or grant powers of attorney. And that is how it should be; the whole point of this process is that the parent decides. Your role is to make decisions easier, not to make them for them.

With powers of attorney (while the parent can grant them consciously) and a map of their affairs. With advanced health problems affecting decision-making capacity, it is worth consulting a lawyer in advance about available options, because an ordinary power of attorney may then not be enough.

No. You can only activate an mDowód if you already hold a valid ID card, so it is an additional document rather than a replacement. Within Poland it is enough in most situations, but the plastic card remains necessary when crossing a border, when applying for a new ID card, and whenever your phone gives out.

The document data is available in the app offline too; cryptographic verification by another person requires a connection on their side. Day to day, no signal does not prevent you from presenting the document.

As a rule, no: since 1 September 2023 a bank that must confirm your identity can also do so on the basis of the mDowód, the digital ID in the mObywatel app, including when you open an account. The plastic card is still needed at the border and when applying for a new ID card. If a branch refuses, ask for verification in mWeryfikator and then file a complaint.

The app also supports the school and student mLegitymacja and other documents (for example the Large Family Card). The catalogue of documents in mObywatel keeps growing.

No. A trusted profile (with a trusted signature) works with public offices and is free; a qualified signature is paid and works everywhere, including private contracts. They complement each other, they do not replace one another.

To set up the mailbox you need identity confirmation: a trusted profile, an e-ID or a qualified signature. In practice a trusted profile is the simplest route.

After the storage period ends, correspondence is deemed delivered (delivery fiction), including the running of appeal deadlines. That is why a mailbox without notifications enabled is a risk, not a convenience.

Because order in documents saves time and nerves. When you need to immediately find a loan agreement, a flat’s title deed or an insurance policy, chaos in your papers can cost you not only stress but also money.

If a document is urgently needed and you don’t have it, you will have to repeat some action, e.g. request a duplicate, which takes time and is sometimes connected with a fee.

Organised documents therefore give you control and confidence in any situation.

Yes. In Polish procedures it is a document that confirms a fact or a right, so a missing one usually means delay, cost or having to prove something another way. The most painful gaps tend to be employment certificates at retirement, ownership documents in an inheritance and confirmations in a dispute. Official documents can usually be restored; many private ones cannot.

Yes, because bills of various kinds, loan agreements, policies, cryptocurrency keys and notarial deeds of acquiring items and real estate confirm the size of our wealth.

Intangible assets, such as shares, bonds and cryptocurrencies, have no external form. Their existence within our wealth is confirmed only by documents, which may exist only in digital form. Their absence may result in access to the assets being blocked.

Varied, and with very different meanings. The most practical division is into legal and private documents. Legal ones lead to some legal consequences, while private ones need not produce any legal effects.

And so we can list:

• personal (e.g. ID card, passport),
• family (birth and marriage certificates, those relating to children’s education),
• financial (loan agreements, policies),
• professional (diplomas, professional certificates, employment records),
• private (letters, printed photos, keepsakes).

Each of them has a different meaning, but all may turn out to be important in various situations.

No. Polish law recognises three forms: the written form, which really does require paper and a signature; the documentary form, where the medium is free; and the electronic form, based on a qualified electronic signature. Some official documents today exist only in digital form.

Yes, because if the original is lost a copy can save the day - especially when you need to prove a fact or reconstruct data. A copy does not always replace the original, but it often speeds up handling a matter.

The most optimal and secure solution is to keep the paper original and its electronic, digital copy. If a document has only an electronic version, then of course keeping that version is enough.

An original is the document issued and signed by an authorised body; a copy is a reproduction with no evidential force of its own. It gains that force only once it is certified as conforming to the original. In official matters neither is usually enough: you need an odpis, wypis or duplikat from the institution that keeps the document.

Yes - some legal procedures even have a path for reconstructing documents. At first glance it seems a document can simply be recreated.

There is a catch, however, because the procedure here is demanding: the action must be justified, it may cover only some documents, and additionally the cooperation of all parties (e.g. to the agreement being reconstructed) is required. We will not manage to reconstruct a whole set of documents. No procedure allows private documents to be reconstructed.

That is why it is worth keeping copies of documents in digital solutions that allow access to them at any time, from anywhere in the world. If the original documents are lost, on this basis you will be able to handle most matters, it will be easier to reconstruct them, and in case of a dispute the court can order the other party to disclose their copy of the document.

Some documents today are electronic from the moment they are created - in that case you simply need to store them on data media, and you can of course also print them.

When you have a document in traditional, paper form, you should also digitise it and save it in a place that allows easy access, searching, secure sharing with others in various situations, and that is safe in terms of confidentiality and protects it against hacker attacks.

Digitisation can be done by scanning documents or simply photographing them.

Digital copies of paper documents are something more than just “photos for the record”. They are a practical way to secure, organise and ease your own access to information that often has crucial importance.

Paper has the drawback that it can get lost, destroyed, flooded or burned. A digital copy means that even in such situations the document’s content stays safe.

In addition, a document in electronic form is always “at hand” - you can quickly find it, send it or print it, without having to look for a binder. It also makes it possible to easily store a large number of records in one place, which saves space and time.

These are different risks. Paper documents at home are exposed to fire, flooding, theft and simple loss, and anyone who enters your home can access them. A virtual vault with strong encryption protects against these threats but requires you to look after account security. In practice the best approach combines both: originals in a safe physical place, copies and instructions in a digital vault.

By the front door, in the hallway or a cupboard near the exit, so that everyone in the household knows where it is and can grab it without searching. Not in the cellar, the attic or the garage. You can keep a second, smaller kit in the car or at work, but without original documents.

A health booklet, chip number and up-to-date vaccinations (especially rabies) can be a condition for a pet’s admission to temporary accommodation. Copies in the bag, a scan in the vault.

The colour is arbitrary; the point is that the folder is instantly recognisable and that the household knows the “red folder” means “the most important documents”. You can call it anything, as long as everyone concerned knows where it is.

In a fixed, dry place known to the household; if it holds copies, it need not be in a safe. Originals of open-ended documents are better kept separately, in a home safe or a bank deposit box.

An instruction only helps when your loved ones know it exists and where to look for it. A combination of two places works well: a printout in a fixed spot known to the household (for example in a red folder with your most important documents) and a digital copy that a trusted person can access.

Tell at least one person where the instruction is, and plan to review it roughly every six months - contacts, duties and documents change more often than you would expect. In Sejf Życia you can keep a copy of the instruction together with your documents and your people and important contacts, and grant access to chosen people on clear terms.

Then the digital version with emergency access for a trusted person outside the home matters even more: a friend, sibling or parent. In an emergency that person will act on your behalf.

In an office usually not: there what counts is an odpis, wypis or duplikat issued by the institution that keeps the document. In many everyday situations a scan is perfectly sufficient, and above all it shortens the path to restoring the original, because it holds every detail the application needs.

Yes: as a descendant you can obtain copies of your parents’ civil-status records, and once you prove inheritance rights, also extracts of notarial deeds or information from banks.

A practical order: ID card (it enables the rest), civil-status records, ownership documents and insurance policies (file a claim!), employment documents. In disasters, insurers usually open simplified claim paths.

During that person’s life, yes (or their presence); after death, the key is proving kinship or inheritance rights.

It is a popular home trick, but no substitute for a certified fireproof safe: in a fire a fridge protects briefly and unpredictably, and moisture can destroy paper faster than fire. A digital copy off-site is better.

At home, with the rest of your important documents in one fixed place, and a scan in a digital vault. When travelling, keep the passport apart from your wallet and the copy apart from the original. The copy and a spare photo come in handy at the consulate if the passport is lost abroad and you need a temporary passport to get home.

Splitting originals and copies between two locations is good practice, provided both sides know what is where. Without that knowledge the system collapses exactly when it is needed.

The safest option is an encrypted digital copy kept off-site and accessible from anywhere. A paper archive kept in one place disappears together with the home during a fire, flood or evacuation, which is why the digital version is a key complement here.

Yes, provided you are sure of access to the history for the required period. It is safer to download PDF confirmations and archive them yourself, because access to online banking may end when the account is closed.

With a shredder or by tearing them up thoroughly. Documents with personal data (national ID number, address, account numbers) should never go into the bin intact - it is a direct route to identity theft.

The minimum is the closing of all succession and tax matters, which usually means several years after the death. Civil status records, notarial deeds and ownership documents stay indefinitely, because they come back at the next inheritance. Utility bills and routine settlements can go first.

As a daily library, yes; as the only archive, no. The account is personal: unless Inactive Account Manager was set up in advance, the family can only submit a request that Google does not have to grant. Photos share 15 GB with Gmail and Drive, and Google may delete an account unused for 2 years. You need a second copy outside the cloud.

Photos: JPEG (universal) or additionally the original RAW/HEIC for the most valuable ones. Video: MP4 (H.264/H.265). Avoid exotic formats and remember that every 10-15 years it is worth moving the archive to fresh media and formats.

HDDs realistically 5-10 years, USB sticks can be temperamental, DVDs age. No medium is eternal; that is why what counts is the 3-2-1 rule and periodic refreshing of copies, not faith in one “indestructible” drive.

It does, though it will not replace the original. A scan gives you the details of a document when you no longer have the original: the series and number of your ID card, your PESEL number, a policy number. With it you can block a lost ID and order a new one faster. For a formal act, though, an office, a court or a notary may ask for the original, an odpis (official copy) or a certified copy.

A good rhythm is a review every 3-6 months and after every major life change: a new job, a loan, marriage, a child, selling a car.

No. We never make public any documents or any information associated with you that is stored in our system.

Note, too, that this is not realistically feasible, because data in Sejf Życia is encrypted with your individual key and there is no way for us to read it, and therefore no way to make it public.

It depends on why the payment stopped. If you simply stop paying for Sejf Życia, we will first block some features. For 30 days after your subscription expires you can restore your plan and recover all your files. After that your data moves to an archive for 180 days, from which it can only be recovered by opening the safe after an event is reported, for example a death. After those 180 days we will delete your documents permanently.

If the account goes unpaid because your death has been confirmed, the documents stay in the system for a while for the people you share them with. 180 days after your death is confirmed, we will block access to them and delete them together with your account.

Limits depend on the plan. In the standard plan it is 1,500 files. The size of a single file is up to 15 MB.

No. We never make public any documents or any information associated with you that is stored in our system. Note, too, that this is not realistically feasible, because data in Sejf Życia is encrypted with your individual key and there is no way for us to read it, and therefore no way to make it public.

If it happens that you are late with a payment, we will remind you and temporarily reduce the functionality of your Sejf Życia. We know that life writes many scenarios - if you want to reactivate your safe, simply update your billing details in your account settings and you will be able to enjoy full access again.

Prices depend on the provider and the range of features, usually a subscription comparable to a single streaming service. When comparing offers, look not only at storage capacity but above all at the encryption model and the access mechanism for loved ones.

It depends. You always have full access to your Sejf Życia. You also decide who gains access to the safe and when, and to what scope of the information / data stored in it.

Yes, but you yourself decide who, when and to which documents has access.

Yes. You can share documents with anyone you designate. You can also appoint any person as your Account Guardian (your trustee).

Only the people you choose. Your family gets the folders you shared with them and can access them for 180 days. By default an account guardian cannot see what is in the safe: they confirm the death report and unlock documents waiting to be shared. Folders marked as private are never shown to anyone.

No. The system works independently of whether you have a will, as well as of its provisions.

Remember that the dispositions saved in the safe do not replace a will, and that they should be consistent with your wishes recorded in it - so that your loved ones and family do not have problems interpreting your intentions and provisions.

Each time you share a document with someone, we will send that person, to the email address you provide, information that such sharing has taken place - and we will invite them to set up a free account (if they don’t have one yet) in the system.

Such a person can report your death in the system by filling in a notification - we will then check the PESEL registry to see whether this fact is recorded in official databases.

An alternative is reporting the death through the Account Guardian (your trustee) or through an automatic mechanism that verifies your activity in the system. When you do not log in for a longer time, we will ask whether everything is all right. If, despite several attempts, you do not respond or log in, we will send a similar request to your Account Guardians. If they confirm that something has happened to you, we will contact you once more; if you do not deny it, we will instruct them how to open the safe for the people you shared something with.

If you do not share your documents with anyone, they will be deleted together with your account.

If some documents are shared, then after prolonged inactivity of your account we will ask whether everything is all right with you. We will also check the PESEL registry to see whether your death has been recorded. If it has, we will inform both the people you share something with and your Account Guardians (your trustees) that your information is waiting for them in the safe.

If, despite our notifications, no one comes forward for the data, we will delete it after a longer period of account inactivity (after at least 12 months).

Yes. You can do it at any time by going to “Sharing settings” and either removing it entirely or changing its terms. The change takes effect immediately upon confirmation.

Platform terms of service forbid it (accounts are personal and non-transferable), and a platform may block the account when it detects the login. In practice families do this; a safer and more durable route, however, is through official mechanisms, especially for accounts of great sentimental value.

It depends on the platform: it may stay active indefinitely (Facebook without a report), be deleted after a period of inactivity (Microsoft, or Google with auto-delete enabled), or persist as a target for attacks because no one reads the security notifications.

No. Netflix, Spotify or iCloud+ keep charging as long as the card or account works. It is a common cost that goes unnoticed for months; cancellation requires reporting the death to the provider. A ready list of subscriptions kept in Sejf Życia lets your loved ones handle this in a few minutes.

An email inbox is the key to all other accounts, so treat it as a priority: Inactive Account Manager for Gmail, equivalent solutions or solid documentation for other providers.

It need not. Modern solutions let you separate “preparing access” from “granting access”: during your life no one sees your documents, and access is triggered only in a situation you define yourself.

Prepare instructions in plain language, step by step - so they can be followed without your help. You can also name two people who will act together: one to make decisions and one who is technically capable. It is a good idea to agree in advance that, if needed, someone in the family - for example children or grandchildren - will help that person; together the app is far easier to use. In Sejf Życia you prepare access and instructions for your loved ones ahead of time, so no one has to figure anything out at a difficult moment.

Start with a few things you can organise quickly that give your loved ones the most value: a list of bank accounts and key subscriptions, a list of insurance policies, a note on where the originals of important documents are, and contacts for the people who need to be notified. That is a few dozen minutes of work, and in a difficult moment it saves your family hours of searching. In Sejf Życia you can gather this information in one place and share it with a trusted person.

Not as a handwritten will. That form requires the whole text to be written by hand and signed, so a printout with a handwritten signature does not meet it. You can prepare the content on a computer, but then you have to copy all of it out by hand. Notarial and allographic wills do without handwriting.

No - the tool creates a draft that organises your decisions. It becomes a will only once you copy the whole text out in your own handwriting, add the date and sign it. The transcription mode guides you through this process step by step.

Not in the generator: you label people your own way, and your answers stay in your browser rather than reaching a server. A PESEL number is not required in the will itself either, but the heir has to be identified in a way that leaves no doubt about who you meant.

The notarial fee for an ordinary will is at most 50 złoty net, for a will with an ordinary bequest, an instruction or disinheritance 150 złoty net, and for a will with a specific bequest (zapis windykacyjny) 200 złoty net. VAT is added on top, along with a charge per started page for each wypis. A handwritten will costs nothing.

Yes, at any time. You can revoke a will or make a new one - a later will generally supersedes earlier dispositions. Our generator asks about any earlier will and, if needed, adds a revocation clause to the draft.

No - a will may contain the dispositions of only one person. Each spouse makes their own document. You can, however, prepare two consistent drafts by going through the generator separately.

Yes, as long as it meets the formal requirements: written entirely by hand, signed and dated. A holographic will and a notarial will have the same legal force. The difference lies in how hard they are to challenge and in the support when drafting the content - here a notary has the edge.

Keep the original somewhere safe that at least one trusted person knows about: a home safe or a notarial deposit. The fact that the will exists should be recorded separately, in the Notarial Register of Wills or in a digital safe. The worst option is a hiding place only the author knows about.

There is no such period. Polish law has no acquisition of inheritance rights through living together: twenty years of a relationship give exactly the same rights to an estate as one year, namely none. Without a will the estate goes to the deceased's family under the statutory order, and the partner is not part of it.

No, a survivor’s pension from social security is due to a spouse and children (and in some cases parents). That is another argument for life insurance as a private equivalent.

A child inherits from each parent regardless of their marital status, and it is the child (not the partner) who is the statutory heir. The partner still needs a will; a minor child additionally complicates asset management (guardianship-court oversight), which is worth discussing with a notary.

Agreements governing shared finances and settlement of contributions are useful during life and on separation, but they do not replace a will: you cannot appoint yourself an heir by contract. Treat them as a supplement, not an alternative.

Someone who knows the business operationally and has the family’s trust: a spouse working in the firm, an adult child, a long-time manager. The future heir can also be the administrator. You can appoint only one administrator at a time (plus a reserve).

No. Without succession management no one, not even a spouse who co-owns the assets, can continue the business under the deceased’s tax ID. At most they can register their own business and try to take over contracts from scratch.

For a micro-business with no employees, succession management still helps: it lets you finish contracts, issue invoices, recover receivables and sell business assets in an orderly way instead of a chaotic fire sale.

In the deceased's business entry in the CEIDG search on biznes.gov.pl. If the entrepreneur appointed a succession administrator (zarządca sukcesyjny) during their lifetime, the administrator's details are shown there and succession management begins at the moment of death. If there is no administrator in the entry, the family has 2 months from the date of death to appoint one before a notary.

Do not take on the role of intermediary between parents and siblings. Encourage the parents to make decisions and to use a notary, and inform siblings that the process is under way - not about its content. Transparency of the process prevents suspicion better than secrecy.

No. Access to documents and instructions is organisational support for your loved ones. Assets are governed by inheritance law and a will. It is best to treat these two elements as complementary parts of a single plan.

No. Polish law recognises only the forms of will set out in the Civil Code, and none of them is electronic. A qualified signature replaces a handwritten signature, but a holographic will requires the entire text to be written by hand. A file with a qualified, trusted or personal signature is therefore not a valid will.

Searching through home documents, yes; financial institutions, however, require proof of inheritance rights. An exception is the claim for reimbursement of funeral costs from the deceased’s account, which works on the basis of invoices and the death certificate.

EU banks and institutions are queried individually; a European Certificate of Succession (issued by a court or notary) helps and is recognised across the Union. For larger foreign assets it is worth engaging a lawyer in the country concerned.

It does not formally vanish: it waits in dormant accounts and after years goes to deposits, among other places. In practice, however, without knowing where to look, it remains out of the family’s reach.

Report it to the bank with proof of inheritance, settle with the other heirs, and remember the tax filing. Newly disclosed assets are declared to the tax office on the SD-Z2 form (an inheritance-acquisition notification that exempts close family from inheritance and gift tax). The deadline to file it runs only from the day you learned about the account.

Only if the husband had no children, parents, siblings or descendants of siblings. In a typical family with children, the wife inherits equally with them (no less than 1/4 of the estate), and additionally keeps her own half of the marital property.

Under statute only if their parent (the deceased’s child) did not survive to the opening of the estate, rejected the inheritance or was found unworthy. To leave something to grandchildren alongside living children, you must write a will.

No. A stepmother or stepfather is related to the stepchild by affinity, not by blood, so under Polish law they are not statutory heirs of the stepchild. The exception works only the other way round: as a last resort, a stepchild can inherit from a stepparent. If a stepchild wants to leave something to a stepparent, a will or a lifetime gift is needed.

It is worth asking notaries about an entry in the Notarial Register of Wills (NORT) and searching the deceased’s documents. Not knowing about a will does not mean there is none, and a will surfacing after the estate is divided can overturn everything.

No. Even for funeral purposes it is unlawful. The legal route is to present the bank with the funeral invoices and apply to have them covered from the deceased’s account.

Most often from the family, who present the death certificate. Banks also use PESEL register data. Do not delay reporting: a delay gives no legal access to funds and complicates settlements (e.g. social-security benefits collected after death must be returned).

A co-holder keeps access to the account. How much of the funds enters the estate depends on the agreement and the marital property regime; if in doubt, ask the bank and a notary.

No. A power of attorney over an account expires the moment the holder dies, not when the bank finds out. The card may keep working for a while, but using it is not lawful. What transfers money quickly is a death-benefit instruction (dyspozycja wkładem na wypadek śmierci).

Technically yes, and no one will verify it on the blockchain. Legally the assets enter the estate: disposing of them while bypassing the other heirs or the tax office may create liability towards co-heirs and tax consequences. Safest: formalities first, then the transfer.

Yes, until the verification of heirs is complete. That is why it matters that the family contacts the exchange with a full set of documents - and knew where to look in the first place.

In a minimal version, yes: a single note “I have an account on exchange X” in a place your loved ones know takes 5 minutes. A full scheme with seed splitting makes sense from amounts whose loss would really hurt.

No, co-ownership can last indefinitely. But time works against you: heirs die and their shares pass to further people; after two generations a dozen people sit at the table whom no one can gather. The claim for division of the estate does not lapse - the problem simply grows.

Yes, partial division is allowed both by agreement and by court. Often the property is divided first, and smaller components later or informally.

Until the division, heirs are jointly and severally liable for debts; after the division, each is liable in proportion to their share. The division itself does not require paying the debts, but it is worth taking stock of them beforehand.

The division covers what is disclosed. A component discovered later can be divided additionally, but concealment of assets by one heir is a direct route to broken trust and disputes.

The court fee for the application is 100 złoty. On top of that comes an advance on expert opinions, the amount of which is set by the court, and a lawyer's fee if you use one. Someone whose financial situation does not allow those costs can apply to be exempted from court fees.

A private asset inventory is a working overview that organises family information: what exists, which institutions to contact and where the documents are. You can prepare it at any time and update it whenever you like.

The formal estate inventory (spis inwentarza) and inventory list (wykaz inwentarza) are legal concepts of Polish inheritance law that apply after someone’s death. The estate inventory is drawn up by a court enforcement officer based on a court decision or an application, while the inventory list can be submitted by an heir to the court or before a notary. A private inventory does not replace these documents, but it makes preparing them much easier for your loved ones.

Yes. Incapacitation limits the capacity to perform legal acts, but it does not remove legal capacity. An incapacitated person inherits, owns a flat, holds money in an account and can be a policy beneficiary. That property is managed by a guardian under court supervision. What they cannot do is make a will.

A pension, disability benefit and other payments still belong to the incapacitated person. They are paid into the hands of the legal guardian, who accounts for them in reports to the guardianship court and must spend them on the ward's needs. The guardian does not become the owner of that money.

Often yes: a curator confirms the more important acts, which blocks fraud, while the person keeps independence in everyday matters. The court will itself choose the milder option if it suffices. Say so plainly in the application; it shows you are guided by your relative’s welfare, not convenience.

For a limited range of ordinary management of joint property, yes, but at offices, with providers, at a clinic or at a bank with an individual account, formal authorisation is usually necessary.

A power of attorney for a single act costs from a few dozen to two hundred złoty net, plus wypisy. Powers of attorney for a bank account are usually free or cost a token amount under the bank's fee table. For many matters a notary is not needed at all, because ordinary written form is enough.

Yes. If several attorneys have the same scope of authority, each of them can act independently, unless the power of attorney says otherwise. You can require joint action: they then sign together, which gives more control but slows matters down. At a bank, what counts is what you set on the bank’s own form.

As a rule a statement made to the attorney suffices; for bank powers of attorney do it directly at the bank, and for notarial ones also inform the institutions where the document was used. Retrieve or invalidate any issued copies.

The statutory standard is 30 days from notification of the event, with the undisputed part payable within that time even while clarifications continue. The claim usually needs a death certificate and documentation of the circumstances of death.

Yes, in situations set out in the policy terms: concealing material information when concluding the contract, death during a waiting period from causes covered by it, suicide in the first months of the policy, or specific exclusions. That is why you should read the terms at purchase, not at the claim.

Yes, the same rule applies: payment goes to the beneficiary named in the enrolment declaration. After changing jobs, check whether the cover continues and who is named.

Benefits from personal insurance are open to enforcement only within limits set by law, so they are not seized like an ordinary transfer. Whose debts are involved also matters: the benefit belongs to the named beneficiary, not to the estate of the insured. Once it lands in a bank account, the position can differ.

Yes, as a person raising the deceased’s child who is entitled to the pension (in education, up to 18) you meet the condition regardless of your own age. After the care ends, the rule of 5 years to meet the age condition applies.

Yes. A survivor's pension (renta rodzinna) is subject to income tax in the same way as a retirement pension or any other ZUS pension. Each month ZUS, the Polish Social Insurance Institution, deducts an advance on the tax and the health contribution, and after the year it sends you a PIT-40A or a PIT-11A. Only the full-orphan supplement is tax-exempt, not the pension itself.

Since 2025 you do not always have to choose (the widow’s pension), and where combining is not allowed, social security pays the more favourable benefit. File an application and compare the calculations in the decision; the choice can also be changed.

Yes, if you name that person in the contract as an attorney for the box. Remember, though, that the power of attorney expires on the tenant’s death; it is not a way to pass on the contents after death.

The bank calls for payment and, after an ineffective demand, may open the box by committee and move the contents to a deposit. The contract governs the details.

Yes, like any property. Heirs gain access after presenting a deed of succession certification or a court order.

If 6 months from the ruling or notarial deed have not yet passed, file immediately. If they have, the exemption is unfortunately lost; settle under group I rules and treat it as an expensive lesson. The inheritance-tax return is a hard deadline.

At market value on the day the tax obligation arose: for flats, transaction prices of similar units help; for cars, listing sites. Under the group-zero exemption, valuation does not affect the tax (it is zero), but undervaluing makes no sense, as the values may be useful at a later sale.

Yes, the filing is individual; each heir declares their own share of the acquisition.

Limits are counted separately for each donor. A gift of 36,000 zł each from your mother and your father are two separate limits (and in group zero the whole is tax-free anyway after filing, where required).

No. The allowance is a benefit for the person who covered the funeral costs, not a sum owed to the deceased, so it does not enter the estate. It is also outside inheritance and gift tax, because it is not an acquisition of property from the deceased. It is not divided among the heirs.

The allowance goes to the person who bore the funeral costs from their own funds. The deceased's money is recovered on a different track: an application to the bank for reimbursement of documented funeral costs from their account. The two routes are not combined for the same expenses.

Yes, the amendment provides for it: annual indexation from 1 March, triggered when cumulative inflation exceeds the statutory threshold. It is always worth checking the amount for a given year at the social security website.

The death certificate, notifying banks and insurers, and inheritance matters are the key steps. It is worth having a full checklist of post-death formalities with the applicable deadlines to hand.

There is no formal deadline, but without confirmation you cannot withdraw funds from a bank, sell property or handle most matters. Postponing also backfires across generations: after years you have to run several proceedings at once, for grandparents and parents together.

They can grant a power of attorney to make declarations or appear before a notary during a visit to Poland; technically the succession protocol can also be created in stages. If contact is impossible, the court remains.

Yes, in special situations (e.g. a will surfacing) the court can annul the registered deed. In practice it happens rarely; the risk is minimised by carefully establishing the circle of heirs and the family knowing about the existence of a will.

One for each bank, the land and mortgage register court and each major institution; usually 3-5 copies. Buying more later requires another visit.

A declaration of rejection is made only after the testator’s death. During their life, however, a notarial agreement to waive inheritance concluded with the testator is possible; it generally also covers the descendants of the person waiving, which is often more convenient than a series of rejections.

Yes. The person rejecting is treated as if they did not survive the opening of the estate, so they also have no claim to a reserved share (zachowek).

The policy benefit does not enter the estate, so the beneficiary will receive it regardless of the rejection.

As a rule no. The declaration is irrevocable; escaping its effects is possible only before a court where the declaration of will was defective (error, threat). That is why the decision should be made based on the fullest possible knowledge of the assets.

Not fully. An instruction is harder to enforce than the obligations of a life-estate contract, and a gift remains countable towards the reserved share. If the essence of the deal is care in exchange for property, a life estate is the tool tailored exactly to that.

A gift does not transfer the loan. The mortgage stays on the flat, so the bank can enforce against the recipient's property, but the donor still pays the instalments. For the recipient to take over the loan, the bank's written consent is needed. A debt taken over also changes the tax picture: the recipient pays 2% PCC (tax on civil-law transactions) on its value.

Only if you secure it legally. A personal easement of residence, created in the deed of gift and entered in the land register, gives a lifetime right to live there and binds any subsequent owner of the flat. Without it, you live in the recipient's flat by their courtesy.

A holographic will is free; a notarial one costs a few dozen to a few hundred zloty. A gift of property incurs a notarial fee based on value (usually 1,000-3,000 zł). A life estate is similar plus 2% transaction tax. The choice, however, should be driven not by the cost of the deed but by the consequences over the years - so before deciding it is always worth consulting a notary, who will help match the form to your situation.

A death is registered at the civil registry office (urząd stanu cywilnego, USC) within 3 days of the death card being issued. If the cause was an infectious disease, the deadline is 24 hours from the death. Registration is free and is often done by the funeral home on the basis of an authorisation from the family.

Whoever actually paid for the funeral: a family member, but also a non-relative, an employer, a municipality (gmina), a county (powiat), a social care home or a parish. A family member as defined by the act receives 7,000 złoty whatever the costs; others get documented expenses refunded up to 7,000 złoty. If several people paid, the benefit is split proportionally.

There is no rigid deadline to confirm inheritance. But watch the 6 months to reject the inheritance if there is a risk of debts, and the 6 months to file the inheritance-tax return to keep the tax exemption.

Liabilities enter the estate. Check whether the loan had life insurance - then the insurer may take over repayment. If the debts exceed the assets, consider rejecting the inheritance or accepting it with the benefit of inventory; in such a case it is worth talking to a lawyer.

A death is registered by a person with the right to bury: the spouse, descendants (children, grandchildren), ascendants (parents, grandparents), siblings and parents-in-law, or a proxy of one of them. In practice the funeral home usually does it under a written authorisation. The report goes to the civil registry office (USC) for the place of death within 3 days of the doctor issuing the death card (24 hours if the cause was an infectious disease). Registration is free and the registrar hands over one short-form death certificate free of charge.

Yes. The absence of a will does not rule out the right to a reserved share. Under ordinary intestate succession, the entitled person usually receives the share due to them, but a claim can arise when gifts the testator made during their lifetime have to be added in when calculating the reserved share.

If the entitled person did not receive, through the inheritance, gifts, or other benefits taken into account, a value corresponding to the reserved share due to them, they can demand its top-up. Heirs are liable first, and if the reserved share cannot be obtained from them, the law provides, in specific situations, for the liability of specific legatees, and afterward of those who received the gifts.

After registering the death the registrar issues one short-form copy free of charge. Further copies cost PLN 22 (short form) and PLN 33 (full form); a copy for ZUS, social assistance or maintenance matters is exempt from stamp duty. To start, 3-4 short-form copies are usually enough: bank, insurer, ZUS, notary. Missing copies can be ordered later at any civil registry office or via the mObywatel service.

Yes. Receiving a reserved share is subject to the rules on inheritance and gift tax. The tax obligation arises at the moment the claim, or part of it, is satisfied, for example on the day the reserved share is paid out, not on the day the testator died.

People belonging to the closest family, among others a spouse, children, grandchildren and parents, can use a full tax exemption. Where a filing is required, the SD-Z2 form generally has to be submitted within 6 months of the tax obligation arising.

A filing is not needed if the total value of acquisitions from, or after, the same person does not exceed the applicable tax-free amount. In 2026, for tax group I, this is PLN 36,120.

The death card is issued by the doctor who confirmed the death. It is free and unlocks two things: the burial (a part for the cemetery administration) and the registration of the death at the civil registry office. The death certificate is drawn up by the registrar on the basis of the card. Only a copy of the certificate is the document a bank, insurer, ZUS, notary or court will ask for. The order never changes: card first, certificate second.

If there are several heirs, until the estate is divided they are jointly and severally liable for the estate’s debts. This means the entitled person can, as a rule, demand payment of even the whole amount due from just one of them, subject to specific liability limits set out in the law.

An heir who pays more than their share requires can then settle accounts with the remaining heirs.

After the estate is divided, liability becomes proportional to the size of each share.

If the reserved share due cannot be obtained from the heirs, the law allows, under specific conditions, pursuing it next from specific legatees, and afterward from people who received gifts counted toward the estate.

Obligations under the contract pass to the heirs, and the electricity or gas supplier keeps issuing invoices in the deceased person’s name until it receives a death certificate. Reporting the death is therefore in the family’s interest. If someone continues to live in the home, they sign their own contract; the key figure is the meter reading on the day of takeover written into the handover protocol, because the new billing starts from it. Suppliers do not charge a termination penalty when the contract ends because of death.

As a rule, no, if the grandchild’s parent, being the testator’s child, is alive and would themselves be first in line under statutory succession.

A grandchild can, however, enter the circle of entitled people when, among other things, their parent:

• did not survive the opening of the estate,
• rejected the statutory inheritance due to them,
• was found unworthy of inheriting,
• was disinherited.

A special rule applies to disinheritance: the descendants of a disinherited child keep their right to a reserved share even when their disinherited parent survived the testator.

According to the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), a provider may not charge a penalty for early termination of a contract because of the subscriber’s death. Instalments for a phone bought from the operator are different: some operators end the instalment agreement without the heirs having to pay, others expect repayment or the return of the device. Check the terms of the specific operator. Invoices issued up to the day the death is reported are an estate debt. The number can be taken over by assignment.

Four deadlines really hurt when missed: 6 months to reject an inheritance (after that you inherit with the benefit of inventory but can no longer reject), 6 months to file SD-Z2 (without it the closest family loses the tax exemption), 12 months for the funeral benefit and 12 months for an unpaid ZUS benefit. Registering the death has a 3-day deadline, but the funeral home usually handles it. The inheritance proceedings themselves have no deadline.

The funeral home settles with the person who signed the order. That person is not left with the bill alone: the ZUS funeral benefit (PLN 7,000) goes to whoever covered the costs, the bank refunds documented funeral costs from the deceased person’s account, and any excess can be settled as an estate debt when the estate is divided (Article 922 § 3 of the Civil Code). The condition: invoices in your own name and a funeral of a scale in keeping with local custom.

A pension or disability benefit for the month in which the death occurred is due in full, regardless of the day of death. If ZUS did not manage to pay it, the unpaid benefit is claimed by the spouse, and then by children and other family members who shared a household with the deceased. The ENS application must be filed within 12 months of the death; after that the claim expires. Money that arrived in the account for later months is undue and must be returned.

The borrower’s death does not change the contract: the debt passes into the estate and the repayment schedule continues. The bank terminates a loan as it would in the borrower’s lifetime, that is when instalments are in arrears, usually after two or three missed periods. Termination makes the whole remaining balance due at once. After a death the priorities are therefore to report it to the bank with a death certificate, check the loan insurance and agree who pays the instalments until the inheritance proceedings end.

Co-borrowers are jointly and severally liable, so the bank may demand the full instalment from the survivor, and usually does. The deceased person’s share of the debt passes into the estate: heirs who accept it are liable alongside the surviving co-borrower. If the loan had life insurance, the insurer repays the part attributable to the deceased, sometimes the whole balance, according to the sum insured. After the inheritance proceedings the bank may offer an annex transferring the debt to one person, provided they have creditworthiness.

The division has two stages. First, ZUS transfers to the spouse’s sub-account half of the funds accumulated during the marital community of property, by transfer only, never in cash. The remaining part is paid to the beneficiaries the deceased designated at ZUS or at their open pension fund (OFE), in cash or by transfer. Without a designation the funds fall into the estate and ZUS pays them to the heirs on presentation of a court order or a notarial certificate of succession. The application is filed on form USS. If the deceased belonged to an OFE, the fund starts the division and ZUS splits the sub-account in the same proportions.

A cash payment from an OFE or a ZUS sub-account after the member’s death is income taxed at a flat rate of 19%. The fund or ZUS acts as the withholding agent: it deducts the tax and transfers the net amount, so the recipient does not report it in the annual PIT return or pay anything extra. Transferring half of the funds to the spouse’s sub-account or OFE account is not a payment and is not taxed; tax arises only when the spouse’s own pension is paid in future. Acquiring these funds is not subject to inheritance and gift tax, so no SD-Z2 form is filed.

The designation is filed in writing with the financial institution running the PPK account, usually through an online form in the institution’s service. If you have several accounts after changing employers, a designation in one does not apply to the others. Several persons can be named with defined shares; without shares they are equal. Divorce or a new marriage does not change the designation automatically. Without one, half of the funds from the period of marital community goes to the spouse and the rest to the heirs, who must present a court order confirming acquisition of the estate or a notarial certificate of succession. PPK accounts run by insurance companies follow their own policy terms.

Funds from an IKE go to the beneficiary or heir free of income tax, in cash or by transfer to their own IKE or to an employee pension scheme (PPE). With an IKZE the institution withholds a flat 10% tax on a cash payout; there is no tax if the funds move by transfer to the beneficiary’s IKZE. The recipient does not report these amounts in the annual PIT return. Acquiring IKE and IKZE funds, like PPK funds, is excluded from inheritance and gift tax, so no SD-Z2 form is filed.

The deadline does not run from the death but from the document confirming the inheritance: a final court order or a notarial certificate of succession. Since 2026 it is 60 days (previously 30). Until then the car stays registered in the deceased person’s name and may be used as long as the third-party liability insurance is paid. The administrative penalty for a late application is PLN 500, rising to PLN 1,000 when the delay exceeds 180 days. An heir who sells the car straight away does not need to re-register it, but must report the sale within 30 days.

Third-party liability (OC) insurance is attached to the vehicle, so on the owner’s death the rights and obligations under the policy pass to the heirs. The policy protects until the end of the period it was taken out for, but after the change of ownership it does not renew automatically: a new policy must be taken out before it ends. An heir may also cancel the inherited policy at any time and buy another. The insurer may recalculate the premium for the new holder. For every day without cover the Insurance Guarantee Fund (UFG) imposes a penalty, which for a gap longer than 14 days reaches twice the minimum monthly wage.

The circle follows from Article 691 of the Civil Code and does not depend on inheritance or registered residence. There is one condition: permanent residence in the flat until the tenant’s death. The entitled person files with the municipality an application to confirm succession to the tenancy, with the death certificate, documents proving the relationship and evidence of residence. There is no income criterion. If the municipality refuses, a court action to establish succession to the tenancy remains. Siblings, parents and grandchildren do not succeed unless the tenant had a maintenance obligation towards them.

Article 691 of the Civil Code names the spouse, the tenant’s and their spouse’s children, maintained persons and a de facto partner. A grandchild falls within that circle only if the grandmother was obliged to pay maintenance for them, which is rare, for example when the parents had died or could not support the child. Otherwise the tenancy ends and the grandchild occupies the flat without legal title, paying compensation for use without a contract. They may ask the municipality for a new tenancy under the council’s rules, but that depends on the municipality’s criteria, not on inheritance law.