EN
The article describes a legal solution, which was introduced to French inheritance law in 2006 and which is referred to as the mandat á effet posthume (the power of attorney with posthumous effect). It is a specific contract, under which an agent administers the estate or a part thereof after the death of a principal. The author analyses the provisions of the French civil code on the mandat á effet posthume (offering their translation into Polish), as well as the case law and scholars’ views on this solution and its legal background. In consequence, readers are provided with a complete overview of the mandat á effet posthume, as it was regulated and as it actually operates in France.