Falls

We represent in inheritance cases both in cases where the inheritance is based on statute and in cases where the testator has left a will. We have considerable experience in proceedings in which the validity of the will is in dispute. We initiate criminal proceedings in which the validity of the testator's last will and testament is verified (whether due to the testator's state of health, doubts as to the authorship of the will or the circumstances in which it was drawn up). We have extensive experience in cross-border succession cases, obtaining the relevant documents from foreign courts or authorities all over the world. Once an inheritance has been legally confirmed, we assist our clients in the timely and proper filing of the SD-Z2 declaration to the Tax Office, which allows for exemption from the obligation to pay inheritance tax.

Once the acquisition of the inheritance has been ascertained (i.e. the heirs and the proportions in which they have acquired the inheritance have been determined), the next stage is its division. In the course of proceedings for division of the inheritance, the court determines which of the heirs acquires particular components of the inheritance property, and complex settlements are made between the heirs. When representing clients in inheritance partition proceedings, we place particular emphasis on activities aimed at determining the composition of inherited assets (both real estate and movable property, including, above all, funds accumulated in banks by submitting relevant applications for obtaining aggregate information on bank accounts), making the relevant settlements between heirs (resulting from including donations in the inheritance estate or exemptions from the obligation to include donations in the inheritance estate), or the appropriate manner of partitioning the inheritance (including through a physical division of real estate). The physical partition of developed real estate may consist, in particular, in establishing separate ownership of premises, in which our Law Firm has extensive experience, cooperating both with experts in architecture and construction and with expert property appraisers.

In cases concerning a reserved portion of a claim we represent both clients claiming a reserved portion of a claim and those suing for its payment. In these cases we pay particular attention to proper securing of claims (from the plaintiff's perspective), proper valuation of components included in the substratum of the reserved portion (with the help of property appraisers cooperating with the Office) and proper crediting of donations. A proper analysis of the legal and factual situation makes it possible to claim the reserved portion also in cases in which the testator did not leave any inherited property, but disposed of it during his lifetime.