Inheritance
According to the Inheritance Law, a persons’ estate is transferred to their heirs, upon the persons’ death. The Inheritance Laws in Israel regulate the treatment of the estate left by the deceased, and the method of the distribution of the estate among the heirs.
Who are the lawful heirs in the Inheritance Law?
- Relatives – when the deceased does not leave a Will, the Inheritance Law is invoked and the heirs are the deceased’s relatives, depending on their closeness: spouses, parents, children, or other relatives in the order of succession. It should be noted that heirs that have not been born yet will also be considered for the inheritance, provided that they are born within 300 days of the deceased’s departing.
- In cases where the deceased has no living heirs, in the order of the specified closeness of the Inheritance Law, the estate will pass to the state represented by the Administrator-General in the Justice Ministry. In effect, the state becomes the successor of the deceased, and is entitled to use the estate funds for: education, science, health and welfare. It should be noted that this is an unusual situation, where the deceased has no living relatives.
Wills and Probate and in between
A Will enables the person to express their desires regarding the distribution of their estate after their passing. However, if the deceased does not leave a Will, the estate will be handled according to the regulations of the Inheritance Law.
It should be noted that the general population in Israel does not prepare Will for the event of their demise, for various reasons, such as: dealing with the writing of the Will and the thought of future death are unpleasant and therefore most people postpone the task, attempting to avoid hurt feelings of loved one who might discover the content of the Will before their passing, feeling that you are young and drafting a Will is too soon, and more. As a result, a person who dies without leaving a Will unintentionally bequests their estate according to the Inheritance Law and not necessarily according to their wishes. This type of inheritance is termed Inheritance by Law as opposed to Inheritance by Will.