How to prepare financial testament — inheritance, power of attorney and financial order

Why think about financial testament?

Nobody likes to think about death. But lack of preparation means your loved ones — in life's hardest moment — have to deal with financial chaos. Blocked accounts, unknown passwords, scattered assets, inheritance disputes. Financial testament isn't a legal document in strict sense — it's organized collection of information that protects your family.

What is financial testament?

Financial testament is document (or set of documents) that contains:

1. List of all assets — accounts, investments, real estate, insurance
2. List of obligations — loans, debts, credit cards
3. Access and passwords — account codes, password manager
4. Powers of attorney — who can act on your behalf
5. Legal will — who inherits what
6. Instructions — what to do with individual assets

Step by step: how to do it

1. Inventory your wealth

List everything you own:

• Bank accounts — bank name, account number, approximate balance
• Brokerage accounts — broker, what assets
• IKE/IKZE/PPK/PPE — institution, beneficiaries
• Real estate — address, land registry, mortgage
• Life insurance — policy, sum, beneficiaries
• Cryptocurrencies — exchange, wallet, seed phrase
• Valuable items — car, artwork, jewelry
• Obligations — loans, cards, private debts

2. Designate beneficiaries

In many financial products you can designate beneficiary — person who receives funds bypassing inheritance proceedings:

• Life insurance — always designate beneficiary
• IKE/IKZE — you can designate authorized person
• PPK — default spouse, but can be changed
• Bank accounts — death benefit disposition (up to 20x average salary in Poland)

3. Establish powers of attorney

Bank account power of attorney allows designated person to manage your funds when you can't (illness, accident). Types:

• General power of attorney — for all account activities
• Special power of attorney — for specific operations
• Notarial power of attorney — stronger, needed for real estate

Important: Account power of attorney expires upon principal's death. Bank blocks access until inheritance proceedings end.

4. Make a will

In Poland will can be made:

• Handwritten — entire text handwritten, date and signature
• Notarial — at notary, cost 50-200 PLN, harder to challenge
• Allographic — oral, with official and witnesses

Without will, statutory inheritance applies: spouse + children in equal parts (spouse min. 1/4).

5. Secure digital access

• Password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password) — give master password to trusted person
• Cryptocurrencies — seed phrase in safe or at notary
• Email — access to main email = access to password resets
• Google/Apple Inactive Account Manager — set data transfer after inactivity

6. Store documents safely

• Envelope in safe with asset list and contacts
• Copy at notary — will + powers of attorney
• Trusted person — tell someone where to look for documents

Financial testament checklist

• List of all accounts and assets
• List of obligations
• Beneficiaries in insurance, IKE, IKZE, PPK
• Powers of attorney for bank accounts
• Will (handwritten or notarial)
• Digital access secured
• Trusted person knows where to look for documents
• Review every 12 months

How Freenance can help

Freenance is central place where you see all your wealth — accounts, investments, obligations. Instead of searching through dozens of apps, you have one clear net worth view. It's ideal base for creating financial testament — export your data and be sure you haven't missed anything.

👉 Organize your finances with Freenance — freenance.io