Property, Inheritance and Personal Status

Property division: mapping assets, debts, rights and possible agreements before making a decision or opening a proceeding.

What Is Dissolution of Joint Ownership?

Dissolution of joint ownership allows either spouse to demand the sale of the apartment and the division of the proceeds, even if the other side objects. This is a proprietary right, meaning that any co-owner may demand an end to the joint ownership, apart from certain exceptions.

How Is the Dissolution Carried Out?

By agreement: through a divorce agreement that includes the division of the property.

Through a legal proceeding: when there is no agreement, the court may order the sale of the apartment through a receiver, or transfer it to one of the parties subject to payment of the value of the other party's share.

Pension Rights in Divorce: Not What You Thought

At the time of divorce, not only physical assets are divided; pension rights, benefits, and provident funds also form part of the resource balancing.

Dissolution of Joint Ownership in an Apartment: What Happens When You Separate?

Inheritances and wills: clarifying the documents, the heirs' rights and the testator's wishes while keeping the process orderly.

A Will: The Secure Way to Future Control

A will is a legal document in which a person determines how their property will be divided after their death. There are several types of wills recognized under the Inheritance Law, 5725-1965:

• A handwritten will
• A will made before witnesses
• A will made before an authority (a judge, notary, or Inheritance Registrar)
• A deathbed will

A will drawn up by a lawyer who specializes in inheritance law, and certified according to the requirements, provides certainty and reduces future family disputes.

Inheritance Order or Probate Order

After a person's death, an application must be submitted for:

• An inheritance order: if there is no will
• A probate order: if there is a valid will

The applications are submitted to the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs or to the Rabbinical Court (at the applicant's choice), and must be accompanied by forms, affidavits, publication confirmations, and identifying documents.

Estate Administration: When the Appointee Is Responsible for Carrying It Out

In cases where a professional is required to manage the deceased's property, the court appoints an estate administrator, whose role is:

• To locate assets and debts
• To ensure a fair distribution in accordance with the will or the law
• To resolve disputes among heirs
• To pay the estate's debts and to approach the authorities

Proper administration of an estate prevents serious mistakes, especially where real estate assets, businesses, inheritances from abroad or complex families are involved.

Common-law partners: examining the relationship, and the rights and obligations that in fact arose over the course of a shared life.

Who are common-law partners?

According to case law in Israel, "common-law partners" are two partners who maintain:

• A shared life as husband and wife
• The running of a joint household
• An intention to establish a long-term couple's framework

There is no need to prove a specific period of time, but it must be shown that the relationship is stable, genuine, and ongoing.

Property rights

Under the sharing principle, a division of property accumulated during the relationship can be sought, even if there was no financial agreement.

The court will examine whether there was an intention to share, and it is also possible to claim rights in an apartment, savings, pension, etc.

Support

In exceptional cases, civil support may be claimed between common-law partners, particularly where one of them was economically dependent on the other over time.

Ketubah and get: clarifying the practical and legal aspects of the Ketubah, the Get and proceedings in the rabbinical court.

What is a Ketubah?

A Ketubah is a binding document under religious law, signed at the wedding ceremony, in which the husband undertakes to pay his wife a sum of money in the event of divorce or death.

Can the Ketubah amount be claimed?

Yes. A woman may file a Ketubah claim in the Rabbinical Court as part of the divorce.

That said, the rabbinical court does not automatically require payment of the amount stated in the Ketubah, but examines the circumstances:

• The reason for the separation ("who caused the divorce")
• Claims of infidelity, violence, or abandonment
• The good faith of both parties
• The size of the amount (whether it is considered reasonable or excessive)

In certain cases full or partial payment will be awarded, or the wife will forfeit her Ketubah.

What is a Get?

A Get is the divorce document under religious law. Without the delivery of a valid Get at the rabbinical court, the couple are still considered married according to religion.

According to religious law:

• Only the husband can "give" the Get
• Only the wife can "receive" the Get
• Both must consent to the Get of their own free will

Therefore, any delay by one of the spouses may lead to a situation of Get refusal and harm the other party's freedom to begin a new chapter in life.