Polish lawyer / Wills for Polish-Australian families
Wills for Polish-Australian families
A Victorian will, property in Poland and family in both countries. Radek Dajer, a Polish-speaking lawyer in Frankston, prepares wills that take both into account, in English and explained in Polish.
What we help with
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
One family, two countries
Many Polish-Australian families have a home in Victoria and a flat, a house or land in Poland, and children or grandchildren in both countries. The questions are practical: will a Victorian will be recognised in Poland, which countryâs law decides who inherits, and can family members claim a share whatever the will says?
We prepare wills under Victorian law, explain them in Polish and point out where Polish law may matter. Advice on Polish law, and a Polish notarial will, come from a lawyer or notary in Poland, and we can work with them so the two fit together.
Good to know
A will made in Victoria in the Victorian form is generally formally valid in Poland, because both countries are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention on the form of wills.
Planning for property and family in two countries
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Whether a will is valid as to its form depends on the law of the places connected with it.
- Form: under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, a will is formally valid if it complies with the law of the place where it was made, or of the will-makerâs nationality, domicile or habitual residence, or, for land, the place where the land is. Australia and Poland are both parties.
- Victorian form: a will must be in writing and signed by the will-maker in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, who also sign (s 7 of the Wills Act 1997 (Vic)).
- A Polish will in Victoria: a will that meets the law of a country of which the will-maker was a national is also properly executed in Victoria (s 17 of the Wills Act).
- International wills: Victoria recognises the international will form, but Poland is not a party to that convention, so it adds nothing for property in Poland.
Poland applies the EU Succession Regulation to decide which countryâs law governs a succession.
- Habitual residence: under Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, the law of the country where the person was habitually resident at death generally governs the succession as a whole. For someone living in Victoria, Polish law, including the forced share (zachowek), may still apply to land or a flat in Poland, because the Regulation also applies Australian rules that refer land to the law of the place where it is (art 34).
- Choosing Polish law: a Polish citizen, including a dual Polish-Australian citizen, may choose Polish law in their will to govern their succession. A person who is only an Australian citizen cannot choose Polish law in this way (art 22).
- Victorian courts: the EU Regulation does not bind Victorian courts, and family provision claims may still be made against assets in Victoria.
Where Polish law governs the succession, close family are protected by a forced share, the zachowek.
- Who and how much: descendants, the spouse and parents who would inherit without a will are entitled to half the value of their intestate share, or two thirds if they are permanently unable to work or are minor descendants (art 991 of the Polish Civil Code).
- A money claim: the zachowek is a claim for a sum of money against the heirs, not a share of the property itself.
- Time limit: claims are generally time-barred five years after the will is announced (art 1007).
- In Victoria: family provision claims under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) are a separate regime, and must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant.
Some families keep a Polish will for property in Poland and a Victorian will for everything else.
- Revocation: in Victoria, a later will can revoke an earlier one. In Poland, a new will that does not say it revokes the earlier one revokes only the provisions that cannot be reconciled with it (art 947 of the Polish Civil Code).
- Two wills: if you keep two wills, each should say what it covers, and neither should contain a blanket clause revoking all earlier wills.
- Polish notarial wills: a specific asset, such as a flat, can pass directly to a named person at death only through a vindication legacy (zapis windykacyjny), which can be made only in a Polish notarial will (art 9811).
- No joint wills: under Polish law, a will may contain the dispositions of only one person (art 942).
Step by step
Your will, step by step
From the first meeting to a signed will. We explain each step in Polish or in English.
01
List both countries
List your assets in Victoria and in Poland, how each is owned, and your family in both countries.
02
Check citizenship
Tell us your citizenship and where you live. They affect which law can apply and whether you can choose Polish law.
03
One will or two
We explain the options and, if a Polish will is needed, work with a notary in Poland so the two fit together.
04
Sign
You sign your Victorian will in front of two witnesses at our Frankston office, after we explain it in Polish.
05
Review
Review your will after a marriage, a separation, a death in the family, or buying or selling property in either country.
How we work
Visit our Frankston office
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, 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 McDonaldâs across the road and at Dan Murphyâs.
Common questions
Canât see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
As to its form, generally yes. Both countries are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention on the form of wills, so a will made in Victoria in the Victorian form is formally valid in Poland. What its gifts achieve depends on the law that governs the succession.
Sometimes. Only a Polish notarial will can include a vindication legacy, which passes a specific asset directly to a named person. If you have two wills, each must say what it covers, so that one does not revoke the other.
Where Polish law governs the succession, descendants, the spouse and parents can claim the zachowek, a sum of money equal to half, or in some cases two thirds, of the value of their intestate share. In Victoria, family provision claims are a separate regime.
Not under Polish law, which does not allow joint wills. Each of you makes your own will, and the two can mirror each other.
No. We are an Australian firm and advise on Victorian and Australian law. We prepare and notarise documents for Poland, but their effect under Polish law is a question for a lawyer or notary in Poland, and we are happy to work with them.
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 your will
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 6:00pm.