Individual account
Who gets your bank or investment account after your death depends on how, and with whom, you hold it. It is worth being aware of this to avoid unpleasant surprises.
If the account is in your name only and you have not named any beneficiary (see below), it will not be easy for your family to get access to your money. Your estate will have to go through a process called probate. This is a court proceeding whose purpose is to divide your property in accordance with your will or, if there is no will, in accordance with the laws of your state. Smaller estates may qualify for a simplified procedure, depending on state law. Either way, your family will have plenty of trouble, especially if they are in Poland.
Power of attorney and access to the account
The account owner can authorize a third party to use his or her account. You designate a Power of Attorney on a form you get from the bank, where you fill in the personal details of the designated person.
Unfortunately, a power of attorney is legally valid only during the principal’s lifetime and expires at the moment of his or her death. The agent will not have access to the account when his or her help may be needed most, that is, after the owner’s death. At that point the account is treated like any other and goes through probate, unless a co-owner or beneficiary was named.
Account with a named beneficiary
The problems described above are solved by a beneficiary designation. It means that during his or her lifetime the account holder names the person or persons who will be entitled to withdraw the accumulated funds after the holder’s death. There is no limit on the number of beneficiaries, and the account owner can change the group of entitled persons at any time.
Advice: At the bank, fill out a form called a Beneficiary Designation Form, in which you state that you want your funds to be paid to a given person after your death (“payable-on-death”). During your lifetime the beneficiary has no access to the account, but after your death he or she will come to the bank with the death certificate and receive the money.
Note: POD accounts are not part of the estate and cannot be disposed of by will.
Joint account
A joint account has two (or more) co-owners. When one of the co-owners dies, the account balance passes to the surviving one, as the very name of this form of co-ownership suggests: joint account with the right of survivorship (WROS). If the account title does not clearly state how it passes on, ask at the bank, because state laws vary.
A joint account cannot be left to another heir in a will, because the application filled out when the account was opened is a contract, and a will cannot override the terms of any contract.
Pitfalls of joint accounts
A carelessly set up account can lead to problems. Here is an example.
Let’s say that Jan and Zofia, both in their sixties, lived together without being married. They met later in life and each had modest assets of their own. Both wrote wills naming their adult children from previous marriages as their sole heirs. For convenience, they kept their money in a joint account at the bank and at a brokerage. When Jan died, Zofia became the owner of all of Jan’s money. Under the will, Jan’s children received only a used car and personal belongings.
The situation can also be the reverse. Let’s say Jan and Zofia want to leave their money to each other. They have separate accounts to which their children have been added (for convenience, as they say). In his will Jan left his money to Zofia, and Zofia left hers to Jan. Nevertheless, the money in the bank will pass to the co-owners or beneficiaries of the accounts, that is, to the children, and not to the partner named in the will.
Living trust
A living trust is a legal entity to which you transfer your property; you keep control over it during your lifetime, and after your death the property passes to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries, bypassing probate. A living trust is created and operates during your lifetime, unlike a testamentary trust, which takes effect only after your death.
If you have set up a living trust, you can transfer funds into the trust’s account. The bank will give you the appropriate forms to fill out, and the account will be registered as follows: “Jan Kowalski, trustee of the Jan Kowalski Revocable Living Trust dated November 12, 2020.” After your death, the beneficiary of the trust will come to the bank and get access to the money. Probate will not be necessary. For more about trusts, consult the “Podręcznik ochrony majątkowej” (“Asset Protection Handbook”), and above all talk to a lawyer.
Giving your assets to your children
For some people, estate planning means giving their savings, investments or house to their children so that they “won’t have problems in the future.” How we dispose of our own property is everyone’s personal matter. Some people give away their assets to qualify for public assistance, others to help their children buy a home, still others for peace of mind. In my view, the property we have worked for should serve to secure our old age, not to patch holes in the budgets of our children, who have their whole lives ahead of them and will inherit whatever is left after our death anyway. Giving away your assets prematurely can lead to many misunderstandings, even tragedies, when the children squander their parents’ life savings and the parents, instead of living in peace, are left in poverty.
It’s different in Poland
Polish banking law states that: “A bank account agreement whose holder is a natural person, not concluded in connection with conducting business activity, is terminated on the day of the account holder’s death or upon the lapse of 10 years from the day the account holder gave the last instruction concerning the account (…)”. Therefore, when the bank receives information about a customer’s death, it will freeze the account, because it becomes part of the estate and is subject to inheritance. Only a court decision confirming the acquisition of the inheritance or a registered notarial certificate of inheritance allows the funds accumulated by the deceased customer to be paid out and divided. In Poland, only joint accounts and accounts with payable-on-death instructions are treated differently.
Updated October 2026.
