3 mistakes in a will that cost our client 42,000 PLN

The trap of general phrasing

Ms. Halina's husband wrote in his will: 'I leave all my property to my wife'. Sounds clear? For a notary, yes, but for a bank and the National Court Register (KRS), it's the start of trouble. The assets included shares in a limited liability company that employed 17 people. When the husband died, the bank immediately blocked access to the business account because the articles of association didn't specify who could manage the shares until the inheritance case was closed. This wasn't theory; it was a hard block on transfers for salaries and materials.

For exactly 114 days, Ms. Halina couldn't withdraw a single zloty from the company funds. She had to borrow 32,400 PLN from family to pay ZUS and the most pressing invoices from suppliers in Gliwice. If the will had contained a precise provision for appointing a succession manager, the matter could have been handled in one business day at a notary. The lack of this one specific document triggered a landslide of costs that no one anticipated.

The bank doesn't look at emotions. If there's a gap in the paperwork, the account is frozen, and the company stands still.

Costs no one talks about out loud

Where did the 42,300 PLN in losses come from? It wasn't just legal fees. This sum consisted of interest for late payments to contractors (7,100 PLN), costs of servicing private loans taken to save liquidity (5,800 PLN), and the loss of a key contract with a wholesaler from Ruda Śląska. The latter withdrew from an order worth 29,400 PLN because Ms. Halina's company couldn't pay for transport and secure the goods on time.

We analyzed 43 similar cases from the last two years. In each of them, the owner was convinced that 'the family will work it out'. The family did work it out, but bank and court procedures don't know the concept of 'good intentions'. Without a precise plan, money you earned over 20 years can be 'trapped' in the system for long months, while fixed costs eat up your capital every day.

A succession manager is not a luxury

Many entrepreneurs in our region associate succession with large corporations. This is a mistake. At Reliability and Vision, we check facts, not promises. Registering a succession manager in CEIDG takes less time than drinking coffee and provides a guarantee that the business will operate normally the day after the funeral. Ms. Halina's company only survived because she had savings in a private account, but 24% of our new clients come to us exactly when such a block is already in place.

Another mistake was not considering the specific nature of the company itself. The will spoke of assets, but the company agreement had a provision regarding the right of first refusal for the remaining partners. A legal conflict arose: who is right? The will or the agreement? Resolving this dispute in court took another 3 months. Clear rules of the game mean that documents inside the company must be in sync with what you write in your will. Otherwise, you leave your family a time bomb.

A succession manager is a 'fuse' that protects the company from a sudden power outage.

How to secure assets in 48 hours?

Fixing Ms. Halina's mistakes was costly and stressful. It could have been avoided for a fraction of that amount. The first step is an audit of your current documents. Don't look for complicated solutions. Check if you have a manager entered in the register and if your will lists company shares as a specific component rather than a general entry. Last quarter, we corrected 11 such documents for local workshops and transport companies.

Remember that assets stay in the family only when the family can freely manage them. No fluff: if you don't have a designated person to handle company affairs in case of your absence today, you risk everything you've built. At Reliability and Vision, we help arrange it so that in the worst case, your children get a functioning business, not payment demands and blocked credit cards.