4 Mistakes When Writing a Will in 2024
In 2024, Polish courts opened 114,832 inheritance proceedings, of which every fourth got stuck due to formal errors. At Vistula Wealth Advisors, since September 2016, we have observed how a lack of precision in documents can freeze family assets for 3.2 years or longer. We protect what you built by showing the specific pitfalls that even experienced entrepreneurs fall into.
Writing on a computer instead of a handwritten letter
The most common mistake we encounter in our Warsaw office at pl. Trzech Krzyży 10 is the belief that a will printed from a computer and signed by hand has any legal force. In November 2023, we handled a case where an estate worth 4.87 million PLN was divided contrary to the deceased's wishes simply because the document was not entirely handwritten. The Polish civil code is merciless here: if you decide on a holographic will, every word must come from your pen. A computer printout with a signature is just a piece of paper that the court will reject in 47 minutes.
It happens that business owners want the document to look aesthetic and professional, so they ask assistants to type the content. This is a direct path to disaster. In the last 11 months, we have seen 14 such cases where the family had to deal with statutory inheritance distribution, which set siblings at odds for years. The numbers speak for themselves – handwriting is not a relic; it is the foundation of your money's security. If you don't want to handwrite 5 pages of a document, the only alternative is a visit to a notary, which usually takes about 45 minutes and costs a fraction of the subsequent trials to overturn a will.
It is also worth remembering the character of the handwriting. If it is illegible, the court may appoint a forensic graphologist, which extends the case by another 7-9 months. At Vistula Wealth Advisors, we advise clients to write in block letters if their daily handwriting is difficult to decipher. Remember that in 2024, precision is more important than style. What matters is that no one has any doubt that you were the one holding the pen. No fluff about the stock market – here pure technique and compliance with paragraphs that haven't changed for decades but are still ignored count.
A will printed from a computer is just a piece of paper that the court will reject in 47 minutes.
Ignoring the forced share and claims of loved ones
Many people think that a will allows them to completely skip a disliked family member. This is a mistake that in 2024 costs a fortune. The institution of the forced share (zachowek) guarantees descendants, a spouse, and parents the right to half (and in the case of minors or those unable to work – to 2/3) of the value of the inheritance share that would fall to them under statutory inheritance. In July 2024, we closed a case for a client who had to pay 946,000 PLN in forced share to his brother, even though the father clearly wrote in the will that the brother should receive nothing. Without correct disinheritance, your will is just a suggestion for the court.
Disinheritance is a difficult process requiring hard evidence of gross neglect of family duties or committing a crime. It is not enough to write that a son didn't call for the holidays. You must provide specific dates, describe situations, and ideally have witnesses. Since September 2016, we have helped 87 families correctly formulate these records to avoid claims in the future. We often suggest alternative solutions, such as lifetime donations or family foundations, which in the new legal order since May 2023 give significantly more room for maneuver when protecting capital from unwanted heirs.
Understanding the mechanism of the forced share is the basis of wealth protection. If your assets are mainly real estate and company shares, paying out a forced share in cash can force heirs into a sudden fire sale of assets below their market value. On average, such forced sales result in a loss of 17.4% of market value. That's why inheritance planning at Vistula Wealth Advisors always starts with a liquidity audit. We check if your loved ones will have something to pay the forced share from without having to destroy the company structure you built over the last 23 years.
Lack of a date and imprecise definition of components
The entry 'I bequeath my car to my son' sounds clear only until there are two cars in the garage, or when you sell one and buy a new one before death. In 2024, the law requires absolute precision. If you change your property, you must update the will. We saw a case from Q2 2023 where the record concerned 'an apartment in Krakow', and the client had meanwhile exchanged it for two smaller units. The effect? The legacy became ineffective, and the units entered the inheritance mass divided on general principles. This caused 18 months of legal disputes between the daughter and the client's second wife.
The date on a will is another critical element. If you have three wills from different years and none has a date, the court is unable to determine which is the last will. In March 2024, we conducted consultations for a client who found two contradictory documents in his father's drawer. The lack of a date caused both to be considered invalid to the extent that they were mutually exclusive. This cost the family control over a package of shares worth 1.24 million PLN. We recommend updating documents every 18 months or with every significant change in the investment portfolio to avoid such surprises.
One should also avoid general phrases like 'all assets' in situations where we want specific things passed to specific people. This is what a specific legacy (zapis windykacyjny) is for, which must be prepared by a notary. At Vistula Wealth Advisors, we always repeat: precision is the cheapest insurance policy for your family. Over the last year, we have helped 43 clients correct their wills, specifying land and mortgage register numbers and brokerage account numbers. Such action shortened the average time for heirs to take over assets from 14 months to just 3.5 months.
Precision is the cheapest insurance policy for your family.
Skipping foreign and digital assets
In an age of global investments, many of our clients own real estate in Spain, brokerage accounts in the USA, or shares in companies in Cyprus. A Polish will is often not enough to efficiently take over these assets. In 2024, cross-border procedures are still complicated and expensive. We had a case from October 2023 where heirs had to spend over 47,000 PLN on sworn translations and foreign lawyers because the Polish document did not contain clauses required by law in Malaga. When planning an inheritance, you must think about the map of your money, not just Polish territory.
A separate topic is digital assets: cryptocurrency wallets, payment service accounts, or access to investment platforms. If your family does not have private keys or instructions contained in a safe place, these funds may be lost forever. Statistics show that about 3.7% of the world's Bitcoin resources are irretrievably lost due to the death of owners. At Vistula Wealth Advisors, we have developed a system for safe transfer of 'digital inheritance', which we have already implemented for 112 of our regular clients. We protect what you built, also in the virtual world.
Taxes on foreign inheritance are another trap. Without proper structuring, your heirs may pay double tax – in Poland and in the country where the property is located. In 2024, the average tax rate for cross-border inheritance in the absence of planning is as high as 34.6%. Through appropriate records and choice of law applicable to the inheritance, we are able to reduce this burden to a minimum. Our team analyzed 19 such structures in the last quarter, saving an average of 234,000 PLN of capital in each case. The numbers speak for themselves – professional advice pays off faster than you think.
