Can a U.S. probate court divide a house in Poland?

Not in a way the Polish land register can act on. Polish procedure reserves cases about ownership of real estate located in Poland to Polish courts, and a foreign decision in a matter reserved to Polish courts is not recognized in Poland. The heirs can still agree in the United States who receives the house. The division itself, however, is carried out in Poland: by a notarial deed or by a Polish court.

Dział spadku

Division of the estate. The step that ends joint ownership among the heirs and gives specific assets to specific people. Until it happens, the heirs own the estate together, each in a fraction.

Why can't a U.S. court decide who owns the house?

Under the Polish Code of Civil Procedure, cases about rights in rem in real estate located in Poland, ownership above all, belong exclusively to Polish courts (Articles 1103⁸ §1 and 1107¹). The reservation also covers other kinds of cases to the extent the decision concerns such rights (Article 1103⁸ §2).

Decisions of foreign courts in civil matters are recognized in Poland automatically, unless one of the obstacles listed in the Code applies (Article 1145). One of those obstacles is that the decision was made in a matter reserved exclusively to Polish courts (Article 1146 §1(2)). An order that gives the Polish house to one heir, or directs that it be transferred, is exposed to exactly that obstacle.

Anyone with a legal interest can ask a Polish court to rule whether a foreign decision is recognized (Article 1148). A foreign decision that is to be enforced in Poland first needs a Polish court's declaration of enforceability (Articles 1150 and 1151).

Which Polish court deals with the estate?

The EU Succession Regulation answers this when the person lived outside the EU. The courts of an EU country where estate assets are located may rule on the whole succession if the person was a national of that country at death, or had previously lived there habitually and no more than five years have passed since moving away when the case is brought (Article 10(1)). Otherwise they may rule only on the assets located in that country (Article 10(2)).

For a Polish citizen who lived in the United States, Polish courts can therefore handle the whole estate. For someone who was only a U.S. citizen and never lived in Poland, they deal with the property in Poland.

What can the heirs agree in the United States?

A good deal. The heirs can settle in the U.S. who receives which asset, including the Polish house, or agree to sell the house and share the proceeds. What a U.S. agreement cannot do on its own is transfer the house.

Under Polish law, an agreement dividing an estate that includes real estate must be made as a notarial deed (Civil Code, Article 1037 §2), and an agreement made without that form is invalid (Article 73 §2). The usual fallback that accepts the form of the country where an agreement is signed does not apply to dispositions of real estate (Private International Law Act, Article 25(2)). A power of attorney to sign such a deed must be given in the same form (Civil Code, Article 99 §1), so it has to be prepared carefully before anyone signs in the United States.

Example

Three siblings in Ohio, Texas, and California close their mother's estate in probate in Ohio. Their settlement gives the house in Nowy Sącz to the sister in Texas, who pays her brothers their shares. In Poland, the inheritance is confirmed first. A Polish notary then records the division that makes the sister the sole owner, with the siblings represented under powers of attorney. The Ohio settlement is the plan; the Polish deed is what the land register acts on.

Key points

Cases about ownership of real estate in Poland are reserved to Polish courts.
A foreign decision in a matter reserved to Polish courts is not recognized in Poland.
Heirs can agree in the U.S. who takes the house, but the division is carried out by a Polish notarial deed or a Polish court.
The form of the country where an agreement is signed is not enough for real estate.
All heirs together can sell the house without dividing the estate first.

What does the process look like in practice?

Confirm who inherited, through a Polish court order or a notarial deed of succession, as described in our guide for heirs abroad.
Divide the estate by a notarial deed signed by all heirs or their representatives or, if they cannot agree, through a Polish court at the request of any heir (Civil Code, Article 1037 §1).
Enter the new owner in the land and mortgage register.

A formal division is not always necessary. The heirs own the estate together under the rules on co-ownership (Article 1035), and all co-owners acting together may sell the whole property (Article 199). They can then divide the money as agreed in the United States.

How we help

We review the U.S. settlement or court order, tell you what can be carried out in Poland and how, prepare the powers of attorney, and take the confirmation, the notarial division or the sale through to the entry in the land register.

This article is general information about Polish law, not legal advice about your situation, and it does not describe U.S. law. Whether a particular U.S. decision is recognized in Poland depends on its content and has to be assessed individually. Legal basis: the Code of Civil Procedure (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 468), Articles 1103⁸, 1107¹, 1145, 1146, 1148, 1150 and 1151; the Civil Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 795), Articles 73, 99, 199, 1035 and 1037; the Private International Law Act of February 4, 2011 (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2023 item 503), Article 25; Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on succession, Article 10. If you would like to know how this applies to you, describe your situation.