Registering a family foundation in Poland is no longer a novelty, yet it can still be surprising in practice. The key risk lies not in the substantive assessment of the application, but in the rigorous approach to formal requirements adopted by the registry court. An article by our expert, legal advicer Karol Staśkiewicz, published in “Rzeczpospolita”, demonstrates that it is precisely the registration stage that requires founders to exercise particular diligence and to be familiar with the current practice of the registry court.

– Returns of registration applications due to formal deficiencies are a major challenge for founders. For this reason, the registration of a family foundation should not be treated merely as a technical formality. It is advisable to prepare a complete set of documents well in advance, in particular to ensure that up-to-date criminal record certificates are attached, that statements of consent from members of the foundation’s governing bodies are submitted in original form or as notarised copies, and that the application clearly indicates whether the founding capital is covered by marital community property, together with a spousal consent where applicable – explains legal advisor Karol Staśkiewicz.

The scale of these challenges is illustrated by the data underlying the article. The analysis was based on a review of registration case files held by the Regional Court in Piotrków Trybunalski. The collected data show, among other things, that:

• only 10 applications for the registration of a family foundation were dismissed;

• as many as 138 applications were returned due to formal deficiencies;

• founders must be prepared to meet a broad range of formal requirements when submitting registration applications if they wish to avoid requests to remedy deficiencies and the resulting prolongation of the registration procedure.

We encourage you to read the full article. It constitutes a practical contribution to the discussion on effective succession planning and asset protection in family-owned businesses. More [PL]: Pułapki rejestracji fundacji rodzinnej – rp.pl

The article is the result of cooperation with the Family Business Law Centre of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw.

Authors: legal advisor Karol Staśkiewicz of Pietrzak Sidor & Wspólnicy Law Firm, in cooperation with Dr Małgorzata Rejmer of LEX Financial Law Firm. Special thanks to Bartosz Kuc for his support in reviewing court files and collecting the data.