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.
Why the statute leaves stepparents out
When there is no will, the Polish Civil Code looks at the spouse and blood relatives: children, parents, siblings and their children, grandparents and their descendants. A stepmother or stepfather is not a blood relative of the stepchild, only an in-law through the stepchild’s mother or father. Affinity gives no inheritance rights, just as it gives none to parents-in-law or brothers- and sisters-in-law.
If a stepchild dies without a will and leaves no one the statute calls to inherit, the estate does not pass to the stepfather, even after years of living together. It goes to the municipality of the last place of residence and, in some cases, to the State Treasury.
The exception works only one way
The statute lets a stepchild inherit from a stepmother or stepfather, but gives them no such right in return. The children of the deceased’s spouse inherit when the deceased left no spouse and no relative called to inherit by statute, and neither of the stepchild’s parents was alive at the opening of the estate. They then inherit ahead of the municipality. Polish guides usually describe them as the fourth group of statutory heirs. There is no reverse provision for a stepmother or stepfather.
How a stepchild can leave them something
A handwritten will is enough, in which the stepchild names the stepfather or stepmother as heir to all or part of the estate. The stepchild can also leave them a legacy (zapis), an obligation on the heir to hand over a specific item or sum. A zapis windykacyjny, under which the item passes to the named person at the very moment the estate opens, requires a notarial will. Another route is a gift during the stepchild’s lifetime.
There is usually no tax to pay. A stepfather and stepmother are among the people exempt under art. 4a of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, provided they report the acquisition on form SD-Z2 within 6 months. For an inheritance the deadline does not run from the death, but from the day the court decision becomes final or the notarial certificate of inheritance is registered. For a gift it runs from the day the gift is received, and a gift of money above the tax-free amount must be documented by a bank transfer into the recipient’s account or a postal money order, or the exemption is lost.
Zachowek and the survivor’s pension
Zachowek, the forced share of an estate, belongs only to the deceased’s descendants, spouse and parents who would inherit by statute. A stepmother and stepfather are not among them, so if a stepchild’s will leaves them out, they cannot claim anything from the heirs.
A ZUS survivor’s pension (renta rodzinna) is different, because it is not inheritance. Here a stepfather and stepmother count as parents, but they are entitled to the pension only if the deceased contributed to their support immediately before death and they meet the conditions set for a widow or widower.
Topics
Put your most important documents in one secure place
Sejf Życia is an encrypted space for documents, access details and instructions for loved ones. Only you decide who gets access, and when.