Inheriting an Israeli Apartment From Abroad
Almost every week, I get a call from New York, London or Toronto. A mother or father has passed away, and among the papers is a land registry extract for an apartment in Ramat Gan or Jerusalem. The children, who grew up outside Israel, assume that the will already probated where they live will be enough. Usually it is not, and that is where a process begins that no one prepared them for.
An Israeli order, even when there is a foreign one. A grant of probate issued abroad does not open an Israeli bank account or transfer an apartment at the Land Registry. Under Section 39 of the Succession Law, no rights can be claimed under a will unless a probate order has been issued under the Israeli procedure, and this holds even when the will has already been probated abroad. For the Israeli authorities to have jurisdiction, it is enough that the deceased left property in Israel, such as an apartment or a bank account (Section 136).
Foreign law enters the picture. When the deceased lived permanently abroad, the Succession Law generally refers to the law of the country where the deceased was domiciled at the time of death (Section 137). The test is domicile, not citizenship. The Registrar then asks for a legal opinion on that foreign law, and many families do not expect this stage.
The Population Registry stands still. People who lived abroad for decades did not always report a marriage, a divorce or a child born overseas to Israel. After death, the record is no longer corrected, and the true facts are proven within the proceedings, with foreign documents and affidavits from relatives.
There is no need to fly in. A power of attorney can be signed before a notary in the country of residence, with an apostille, or at an Israeli consulate. The proceedings themselves take place in Israel.
After the order, the partnership begins. Three siblings in three countries become co-owners of one apartment. One wants to sell, one wants to keep it “for the children,” and the third simply does not answer emails. The law allows each co-owner to ask for the co-ownership to be dissolved, but it is better to reach an agreement before anyone reaches a courtroom.
And what can be done while the parents are still alive? Put together a list of the assets and documents in Israel. Make sure the Israeli records reflect reality. And check with lawyers in both countries that the will works in both of them, not just in one.
In most of the families I meet, the difference between a simple process and an exhausting one was not luck. It was whether someone thought about it in advance.
