Polish lawyer / Heirs in Poland
An estate in Victoria, heirs in Poland
When someone dies in Victoria leaving a house, bank accounts or superannuation, family members in Poland usually do not need to travel to Australia. Radek Dajer, a Polish-speaking lawyer in Victoria, acts in the estate and explains each step in Polish.
What we help with
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
A death in Victoria, family in Poland
The Victorian assets of someone who has died are administered under Victorian law. To transfer or sell the house, or to close the accounts, a grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is none) from the Supreme Court of Victoria is usually needed. A Polish court decision confirming the heirs, or a Polish notarial certificate of inheritance, does not replace it.
We advise on Victorian and Australian law. We meet the family by video, explain the documents in Polish and apply to the Court, then help the executor or administrator collect the assets, pay the debts, sell the property and distribute the estate. Where Polish law matters, we work with a lawyer or notary in Poland.
Good to know
Poland is not one of the places whose grants can be resealed in Victoria, so where a grant is needed for assets in Victoria, it must be a Victorian grant.
What heirs in Poland need to know
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
A grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is none) is issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- When one is needed: it depends on what was in the deceased’s sole name and what banks and other institutions require. Land in the deceased’s sole name usually cannot be transferred or sold without a grant. Land held with someone else as joint tenants passes to the survivor without one.
- No will: the closest next of kin entitled to share in the estate applies for letters of administration, in this order: partner, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, grandparents, aunts and uncles, then cousins.
- Advertising and filing: the intended application is advertised online through RedCrest-Probate and filed at least 15 days later. The original will must be sent to the Probate Office.
- Applying through an attorney: where the sole executor, or the person entitled to administration, lives outside Victoria, the Court may grant administration to their attorney under a power of attorney. A surety guarantee is also needed.
The application needs affidavits signed by the applicant, and often documents from Poland.
- Affidavits in Poland: an affidavit for use in Victoria can usually be witnessed by a person authorised to witness affidavits in the place where it is signed. The Australian Embassy in Warsaw also provides notarial services by appointment. We agree with you beforehand who will witness it and in what form.
- Polish documents: birth, marriage or death certificates may be needed to show the relationship. Apostilles for Polish documents are issued by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Apostille Convention has applied between Australia and Poland since 14 August 2005.
- Translation: documents in Polish usually need an English translation. We tell you what kind of translation will be needed.
- A will made in Poland: is formally valid in Victoria if it complies with the law of the place where it was made, or of the will-maker’s domicile, habitual residence or nationality (s 17 of the Wills Act 1997 (Vic)). The Court usually requires an affidavit from a lawyer who knows Polish law.
Superannuation is generally not part of the estate and does not automatically pass under the will.
- Who the fund pays: the fund pays a dependant, a person named in a valid binding death benefit nomination, or the legal personal representative, in line with the fund’s rules.
- Tax: a lump sum paid to a dependant for tax purposes is tax-free. An adult, independent child is not a dependant, so the taxable component is taxed, generally at 15% or 30%. The Medicare levy can also apply to a benefit paid to them directly, but foreign residents are generally exempt from it.
- Paid to the estate: a benefit paid to the estate is taxed as if it had been paid to the beneficiary directly, but no Medicare levy is payable.
- Claiming: the fund usually asks for the death certificate and proof of identity and, if it pays the estate, the grant of probate or letters of administration.
There is no inheritance tax in Australia, but selling inherited property can give rise to capital gains tax.
- The family home: if the house was the deceased’s main residence just before death and was not producing income, and the sale settles within 2 years of the death, the gain is generally exempt. Different rules can apply where the deceased or the beneficiary was a foreign resident.
- An executor in Poland: if the executor is a foreign resident for tax purposes, the buyer withholds 15% of the price on a sale of the property and pays it to the Australian Taxation Office.
- Before distribution: the executor must deal with the deceased’s and the estate’s tax before distributing the estate, or may be personally liable.
- Tax in Poland: an heir who is a Polish citizen or lives permanently in Poland can owe Polish inheritance tax on assets in Australia too. Close family may be exempt if they notify the tax office on form SD-Z2 in time (arts 2 and 4a of the Polish Inheritance and Gift Tax Act). Ask a tax adviser in Poland.
Step by step
An estate in Victoria, step by step
How we usually handle an estate when the family lives in Poland. We explain each step in Polish or in English.
01
Talk by video
We find out what the deceased left, whether there is a will and who the heirs are. Before any work starts, we tell you in writing how we will charge.
02
Documents
We gather the death certificate, the will and any Polish civil records, and prepare the affidavits for signing in Poland.
03
Apply to the Court
We advertise the intended application through RedCrest-Probate and, at least 15 days later, file it with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
04
Assets and debts
Once the grant is made, the executor collects the assets, pays the debts and funeral expenses, deals with tax and, if needed, sells the property.
05
Distribution
A distribution properly made more than 6 months after the grant is protected, provided the executor has had no notice of a family provision claim.
How we work
Visit our Frankston office
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, by appointment
Notarial appointments
In person at our office, by appointment. Bring your passport or other photo identification.
By train
A short walk from Frankston station, at the end of the Frankston line from Melbourne.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
Usually not. We talk by phone or video and send documents by email, and the affidavits can be signed in Poland. We explain who can witness them.
Not for assets in Victoria. Poland is not one of the places whose grants can be resealed in Victoria, so where a grant is needed, it must come from the Supreme Court of Victoria.
It depends on the estate. The application can be filed at least 15 days after it is advertised, and executors usually do not distribute until 6 months after the grant, because of possible family provision claims.
Yes. In Victoria some people, such as a spouse, partner or child, can apply for provision from the estate. The application must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant.
No. We are an Australian firm and advise on Victorian and Australian law. Where Polish law matters, we work with a lawyer or notary in Poland.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
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Talk to us about an estate in Victoria
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm.