Special forms of wills in Polish law

Abstract

One of the main principles of inheritance law is the principle of freedom of testing. It should be understood that a natural person may dispose of own property by means of a legal act in the event of death. Such dispositions are called dispositions under the law of succession. However, it should be emphasised that the freedom of testing does not mean complete freedom in undertaking such activities. The principle was adopted according to which dispositions of property upon death are made only in the strictly defined form of a legal act. Dispositions may not violate the standards contained in mandatory provisions. This article focusses on wills in special forms, i.e. oral, traveling and military wills. In these considerations, the special circumstances which justify the preparation of a special are analysed, and the method of drawing up special wills and the methods of confirming their content in Polish law are presented.