Granice uwzględniania woli testatora z zaburzeniami psychicznymi w polskim prawie spadkowym

Abstract

The article describes the borders of acknowledgement of the actual will of a mentally deficient testator under Polish inheritance law, which is an issue of vital importance in an ageing society. This is done by analysis of those institutions of the inheritance law, the application of which demands examination of the testator’s will assumed to be the fundament of this branch of law. By examining the legal premises of testation ability, defects of the statement of will and interpretation of the testament, as well as the practical problems connected therewith, there is an adjustment of those institutions to the specificity of the inheritance law shown together with its further protection of the testator’s will in comparison with the general rules of civil law protecting participants of the legal turnover. It is, however, also shown that still far-reaching limitations of the acknowledgement of a testator’s will, especially one with the mental deficiency, lead to a lack of legal protection of the actual and doubtless testator’s will. This is why the legal solutions acknowledging it to a greater extent are briefly described.