The Communist government enacted legislation on "abandoned property", placing severe limitations on inheritance not present in pre-war inheritance law which allowed inheritance by second-degree relatives, limiting restitution to the original owners or direct heirs. The unprecedented rate of extermination of Polish Jews in conjunction with the fact that only Jewish property was officially confiscated by the Nazis suggests "abandoned property" was equivalent to "Jewish property". Communist officials did not conceal this, the formulators of the law argued that it was necessary to prevent wealth concentration in the hands of "unproductive and parasite factors".Weizman, Yechiel. "Unsettled possession: the question of ownership of Jewish sites in Poland after the Holocaust from a local perspective." Jewish Culture and History 18.1 (2017): 34-53. The initial 1945 decrees were superseded by a 1946 law,Beyond Violence: Jewish Survivors in Poland and Slovakia, 1944–48, Cambridge University Press, Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, page 72 with a claims deadline of 31 December 1947 (later extended to 31 December 1948) after which property devolved to the Polish state.The Plunder of Jewish Property during the Holocaust, Palgrave, page 101 Even if Jews regained de jure control, when it was occupied by Poles additional lengthy proceedings were required.Searching for Justice After the Holocaust: Fulfilling the Terezin Declaration and Immovable Property Restitution, Oxford University Press, page 325 The majority of Jewish claimants could not afford the restitution process due to the filing costs, legal fees, and inheritance tax, although all claimants could apply to have these fees waived, or could receive support from state organizations established for that purpose.false Beyond Violence: Jewish Survivors in Poland and Slovakia, 1944–48, Cambridge University Press, Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, page 82
