General Guardian Law, 5738-1978
חוק האפוטרופוס הכללי, תשל"ח-1978
Published: 1978-01-18Last amended 2026-03-31✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
Premium
Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.
Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.
The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.
Definitions§
1.
In this Law –
"abandoned asset" – an asset in which all of the following conditions are met:
(1)no person has been found who is entitled and able to act as its owner or to manage it, or whose owner is unknown;
(2)the asset is situated in the country, and in the case of an asset of an Israeli citizen, of a resident of Israel, or of a corporation registered in Israel or incorporated therein – also an asset situated abroad;
"interested party" in an abandoned asset – a person who has a right in that asset or an existing or anticipated connection thereto, including a creditor of such a person;
"court" – District Court;
"management order" – an order under section 6(a).
Appointment and Powers§
2.
(a)The Minister of Justice shall appoint a General Guardian, and may appoint a deputy and a vice or vices to the General Guardian and determine their powers.
(b)The General Guardian is charged with the management of abandoned assets in accordance with the provisions of this Law; the General Guardian is also empowered to carry out any other function that the General Guardian has undertaken or that has been imposed upon the General Guardian by law or by a decision of the Government.
Corporation§
3.
The General Guardian is a corporation, capable of any obligation, right and legal act.
Representatives§
4.
(a)The General Guardian may also carry out any of the General Guardian's functions through a person who is not among the State employees under the General Guardian's supervision (hereinafter – representative), and may delegate to the representative authority from among the General Guardian's powers with respect to a particular asset and pay the representative remuneration.
(b)A representative shall act in accordance with the instructions of the General Guardian and under the General Guardian's supervision, but this, or the payment of the representative's remuneration under subsection (a), shall not create an employer-employee relationship between the representative and the General Guardian or the State.
(c)The General Guardian may, before or after the appointment of a representative, require the representative to create a charge (security interest) over assets or to provide a guarantee to secure the performance of the representative's functions and duties, and may at any time require the representative to provide additional security or to release security that has been given, in whole or in part.
Duty of Notification and Investigation§
5.
(a)A person who holds an abandoned asset or an asset that the person has grounds to assume is abandoned, and also a public employee who becomes aware of such an asset in the course of performing the employee's functions, is obliged to notify the General Guardian thereof and to provide the General Guardian with the particulars known to that person concerning the asset.
(b)If the General Guardian becomes aware – by way of a notification under subsection (a) or otherwise – of an asset that there are grounds to assume is an abandoned asset, the General Guardian shall conduct an investigation in order to ascertain whether there is cause to manage it under this Law, and the General Guardian shall be empowered to collect evidence for that purpose.
(c)If the General Guardian finds in the course of the investigation that there is cause to manage an abandoned asset under this Law, the General Guardian shall apply to the court with a request for the grant of a management order or shall manage it under section 7.
Management Order and Interim Order§
6.
(a)Upon application by the General Guardian, by an interested party or by the Attorney General, the court may order the General Guardian to manage a particular abandoned asset or the abandoned assets of a particular person or of that person's estate.
(b)An application by an interested party under subsection (a) shall not be accepted unless it is proved that the applicant notified the General Guardian in writing at least 30 days beforehand of the intention to submit it.
(c)If the General Guardian has grounds to assume that a particular asset is an abandoned asset, the court may, upon application by the General Guardian, order the taking of measures to preserve the asset or rights therein, including the temporary suspension of acts relating to the asset, its temporary management by the General Guardian and the sale of a perishable asset, as the court shall see fit.
Management without a Management Order§
7.
(a)Abandoned assets whose value does not exceed NIS 100,000 or another sum prescribed by the Minister of Justice by Order with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, the General Guardian may manage even without a management order.
(b)The sum referred to in subsection (a) shall be updated on 1 January of each year, in accordance with the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index known on that date compared with the said Index as known on 1 January of the preceding year, and shall be rounded to the nearest sum that is a multiple of ten new shekels; the General Guardian shall publish a notice of the updated sum in the Reshumot (Official Gazette).
Management Order in Favour of a Person Other than the General Guardian§
8.
(a)If the court is satisfied that in the circumstances of the matter it is desirable for an abandoned asset to be managed by a person other than the General Guardian and that its management by that person is not likely to harm the asset or the rights of interested parties, the court may grant an order imposing the management of the asset on that person, provided that that person has consented thereto.
(b)The court may grant an order under subsection (a) whether from the outset or after a management order or temporary management order has been granted under section 6(c), and may make the order conditional upon the provision of a guarantee for the proper management of the asset and upon other conditions, all as the court thinks fit.
(c)A person to whom a management order is granted under this section is obliged to submit to the General Guardian a report on the management of the asset as the General Guardian shall direct and at least once a year, and to furnish the General Guardian with full information as required; the provisions of sections 9, 10(c) and 11 to 16 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, also to such a person.
Manner of Management§
9.
(a)The General Guardian is obliged to assemble the assets under the General Guardian's management, to manage them and to do in respect of them whatever is likely, in the General Guardian's opinion, to benefit the interested parties therein, and, inter alia, once every five years from the date of commencement of management of an asset as aforesaid, shall initiate a process of investigation and examination to locate the holders of rights in the asset, with the aim of returning the asset to the holders of rights therein, and in that framework shall carry out the following acts:
(1)publish a public notice on the website of the Ministry of Justice that shall include the type of asset and the name of the last holder of rights in the asset;
(2)apply to the Population, Immigration and Border Crossings Authority in the Ministry of the Interior and to the Registrar for inheritance matters for the purpose of obtaining information that may assist in locating the holders of rights in the asset.
(b)Where the General Guardian manages the assets of a particular person's estate, the General Guardian may defray from them, at the General Guardian's discretion, the expenses connected with the funeral and burial of that person, the erection of a tombstone on the grave and also with a memorial service in accordance with the custom in the circumstances of the matter.
(c)The following acts require prior approval of the court:
(1)an act whose validity depends upon registration in a register maintained under a law;
(2)the sale of an asset whose estimated value exceeds NIS 88,000 or another sum prescribed by the Minister of Justice in Regulations with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset; the provisions of section 7(b) shall apply for the purposes of updating the sum referred to in this paragraph.
Investment of Funds§
10.
(a)For the purposes of this section the Minister of Justice shall appoint an Investment Committee of the following composition:
(1)a representative of the Minister of Justice – chairperson;
(2)a representative of the Minister of Finance;
(3)a representative of the Governor of the Bank of Israel.
(b)The Investment Committee shall determine its procedures and working methods, to the extent that these have not been prescribed in Regulations.
(c)If among the assets under the management of the General Guardian there are funds, whether from the outset or as a result of the realisation of other assets, and the funds are not required for current management needs, the General Guardian is obliged to hold or invest them, as required in order to preserve the principal and to secure income, by way of depositing them in a yield-bearing deposit to be managed at the Ministry of Finance in accordance with an investment mechanism prescribed by the Minister of Justice in Regulations under section 23(a)(3) or in one of the ways determined by the Investment Committee under those Regulations, all in accordance with the guidelines and considerations for choosing the method of investing the funds as prescribed in those Regulations, or in a manner directed by the court.
(d)Funds as aforesaid that derive from different assets the General Guardian may invest jointly, without attributing the investment to particular assets, in one of the ways determined by the Investment Committee.
(e)Profits from a joint investment, net of its expenses, shall be credited to each asset from which the funds originated, and investment losses shall be charged to the asset, all in proportion to its participation in the investment, by amount and by time.
(f)The General Guardian shall furnish the State Control Committee of the Knesset, not later than six months after the end of the financial year, a financial report on the joint investment activities in the financial year that has ended.
Inventory and Accounts§
11.
(a)The General Guardian shall prepare an inventory and maintain accounts with respect to the assets under the General Guardian's management; the Minister of Justice may prescribe in Regulations provisions concerning the preparation of the inventory and the maintenance and auditing of the accounts.
(b)Entries made in the aforesaid accounts in the ordinary course of the activities of the General Guardian shall constitute prima facie evidence of what is stated therein.
Management Expenses§
12.
(a)The expenses of managing an asset, including compulsory payments applicable to it under any law and the General Guardian's remuneration (hereinafter in this section – management expenses), shall be borne by the asset, unless the court has directed that they shall be borne, in whole or in part, by another asset or by a particular person.
(b)The General Guardian may set off management expenses incurred in connection with a particular asset against income received from another asset of the same owner under the General Guardian's management.
(c)The General Guardian shall collect the management expenses from the assets; the expenses shall constitute a first charge (security interest) on the assets.
Inspection of Documents§
13.
(a)An interested party in a particular asset may inspect documents specified in that party's application that relate to that asset, except for internal notes and correspondence, unless the General Guardian is of the opinion that the application was submitted in bad faith; a person who is entitled to inspect a document is also entitled to obtain a copy thereof.
(b)The General Guardian is not obliged to produce in legal proceedings a document relating to an asset or to its management, except pursuant to an order of the court.
Court Directions§
14.
Upon application by the General Guardian, by an interested party or by the Attorney General, and also of the court's own motion, the court may give the General Guardian directions concerning anything relating to the performance of the General Guardian's functions, and also concerning the making of grants to a person entitled to maintenance from the owner of an abandoned asset and the making of loans to the spouse or family members of the owner of the asset.
Termination of Management§
15.
(a)The General Guardian shall manage an asset until a person appears and proves to the General Guardian's satisfaction that that person is entitled to receive it, or until it becomes clear to the General Guardian that the asset has ceased to be an abandoned asset or that the provisions of subsections (b1), (c), (c1), (c2) or (c3) have been fulfilled.
(b)Where the management of an asset under a management order has come to an end, or where it has become apparent that there was no cause to issue a management order in respect of it, the General Guardian shall submit to the court a report and shall deliver to it the accounts relating to that asset, audited as prescribed in Regulations; the liability of the General Guardian in respect of the asset shall terminate on the day on which the court approved the report, and if the asset was delivered in the manner prescribed in Regulations – on the day of delivery as approved by the court in advance or retrospectively, whichever is earlier.
(b1)Where the General Guardian has located the holders of rights in an asset under the General Guardian's management, or where a person has proved to the General Guardian's satisfaction that that person is entitled to receive an asset under the General Guardian's management, and the General Guardian has notified the holders of rights located or the person as aforesaid, as the case may be, of their right to receive the asset, but they have refrained from taking steps to receive it into their possession for three years from the date of such notification, and the court is satisfied, on the basis of a report by the General Guardian, that there is no justification for continuing the management, the court may order the General Guardian to transfer the asset to State ownership and to grant the General Guardian a certificate of discharge, provided that during the said period the General Guardian sent to the holders of rights located or to the person as aforesaid, as the case may be, two notifications at intervals of at least one year between them, concerning their rights in the asset and stating that if they do not act to exercise their rights, the General Guardian will apply to the court for an order to transfer the asset to State ownership.
(c)Where the management of an asset that is an asset of a Holocaust victim or a real property asset under this Law has continued for fifteen years and the court is satisfied, on the basis of a report by the General Guardian, that there is no justification for continuing the management, the court may order the General Guardian to transfer the asset to State ownership and to grant the General Guardian a certificate of discharge.
(c1)
(1)Where the management of an asset that is not an asset of a Holocaust victim and is not a real property asset has continued under this Law for ten years, the General Guardian shall transfer the asset to State ownership, provided that before transferring the asset as aforesaid the General Guardian carries out the acts listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) below; the General Guardian shall commence carrying out the said acts at least one year before the date for transferring the asset to State ownership under this paragraph, and shall carry them out over a period of at least one year:
(a)publish a public notice on the website of the General Guardian of the intention to transfer the asset to State ownership; the public notice shall invite the holders of rights in the asset to submit applications in connection therewith, within a period to be prescribed; the notice shall include the type of asset and the name of the last holder of rights in the asset; the Minister of Justice may prescribe additional particulars to be included in the notice and also the methods of its publication;
(b)initiate a process of investigation and examination and also act with reasonable diligence to locate the holders of rights in the asset, with the aim of returning the asset to the holders of rights therein; within the framework of the investigation and examination, the General Guardian shall apply to bodies in the State that may have information that could assist in locating the holders of rights in the asset, including the Population Registry at the Ministry of the Interior, the Registrar for inheritance matters, the tax authorities, and the National Insurance Institute;
(c)carry out additional acts prescribed by the Minister of Justice;
(d)submit to the court a report on the General Guardian's activities under this paragraph;
(2)Where the court is satisfied that it was not possible to locate the holders of rights in the asset, notwithstanding that the General Guardian acted with reasonable diligence in fulfilling the General Guardian's obligations, the court shall approve the report submitted by the General Guardian as referred to in paragraph (1)(d); the court may direct the General Guardian as to any direction it thinks fit concerning the asset, including as to the carrying out of additional acts to locate the holders of rights in the asset, before approving the report submitted by the General Guardian as aforesaid;
(3)(Repealed).
(c2)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c1), where the value of an asset as referred to in that subsection did not exceed the sum specified in section 7, and the General Guardian is satisfied that there is no justification for continuing to manage the asset, the General Guardian shall transfer the asset to State ownership, provided that before transferring the asset as aforesaid the General Guardian carries out the acts listed in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) below; the General Guardian shall commence carrying out the said acts at least nine months before the date for transferring the asset to State ownership under subsection (c1)(1), and shall carry them out over a period of at least nine months:
(a)publish a public notice on the website of the General Guardian of the intention to transfer the asset to State ownership; such a notice shall specify the type of asset and the name of the last holder of rights in the asset;
(b)apply to the bodies listed at the end of subsection (c1)(1)(b), for the purpose of locating the holders of rights in the asset;
(2)(Repealed);
(3)(Repealed).
(c3)Where the management of a real property asset that is not an asset of a Holocaust victim under this Law and that is not an asset to which section 5 of the Arrangements of Law and Administration Law applies has continued for 15 years, the General Guardian shall transfer the asset to State ownership, provided that before transferring the said asset the General Guardian carries out the acts listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (c1)(1), and also, for the purpose of locating holders of rights in the asset, applies to the Israel Land Authority and to the Real Property Registration and Settlement Division at the Ministry of Justice; the General Guardian shall commence carrying out the said acts at least one and a half years before the date for transferring the asset to State ownership under this subsection and shall carry them out over a period of at least one and a half years; the provisions of subsection (c1)(2) shall apply to the transfer of an asset to State ownership under this subsection.
(c4)The General Guardian shall publish, once every half year, a public notice in three daily newspapers with nationwide circulation, concerning the General Guardian's intention to transfer assets to State ownership under this section, and may also publish a public notice as aforesaid by other means, as required and at the General Guardian's discretion; such a notice shall state that it is possible to inspect the list of assets designated for transfer to State ownership and the list of the names of the holders of rights in the assets on the website of the General Guardian.
(d)
(1)Where an asset has been transferred to State ownership under subsections (b1) to (c3), the holder of rights in the asset is entitled to receive from the State –
(a)if the asset is in the possession of the State – one of the following, at that person's choice:
(1)the asset, and if the State has improved it – the asset less the expenses incurred in connection with the improvement;
(2)the value of the asset as it was on the day of its transfer to State ownership, together with shekel interest;
(b)if the asset was a real property asset and is not in the possession of the State – one of the following, at that person's choice:
(1)the value of the asset as it was on the day of its transfer to State ownership, together with shekel interest;
(2)the consideration received from the transfer of the rights in the asset, less expenses incurred by the State in connection with its sale to a third party, and if the State improved the asset before selling it – less the expenses incurred in connection with the improvement of the asset, all together with shekel interest;
(3)if the asset was not a real property asset and is not in the possession of the State – the value of the asset as it was on the day of its transfer to State ownership, together with shekel interest;
(2)the person entitled shall receive the asset, its value or its consideration under paragraph (1), after deducting the management expenses as defined in section 12, paid to the General Guardian at the time of the transfer of the asset to State ownership;
(3)the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the shekel interest supplement referred to in this subsection.
(d1)The Minister of Justice shall report to the Economics Committee of the Knesset, once a year, on the implementation of the provisions of this section by the General Guardian.
(e)In this section –
"Arrangements of Law and Administration Law" – Arrangements of Law and Administration Law [Consolidated Version], 5730-1970;
"Interest and Linkage Law" – Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961;
"asset of a Holocaust victim" – as defined in the Assets of Holocaust Victims Law (Restitution to Heirs and Dedication to Purposes of Assistance and Commemoration), 5766-2006;
"shekel interest" – as defined in the Interest and Linkage Law.
Validity of Acts§
16.
An act carried out in good faith between the General Guardian and another person, on the assumption that a particular asset is an abandoned asset, shall remain valid even if it is subsequently discovered that the asset was not abandoned.
Ancillary Powers§
17.
(a)The General Guardian may request the court to summon and examine any person on matters within the General Guardian's sphere of activity.
(b)Where a person admits in an examination under subsection (a) that that person holds an abandoned asset, the court may order forthwith that that person deliver the asset to the General Guardian at such time and on such conditions as the court shall determine.
(c)A transcript of an examination under section 5(b) and under subsections (a) and (b) shall be admissible as evidence of its contents in any legal proceedings to which the General Guardian is a party.
(d)A person summoned for examination under section 5(b) shall, with respect to that person's expenses and remuneration, and a person summoned for examination under subsection (a) shall, in all respects, have the same status as a witness summoned to testify in court in civil proceedings.
Penalties§
18.
(a)The following are liable to imprisonment of one year or a fine of ten thousand liras:
(1)a person who knowingly contravened the provisions of section 5(a);
(2)a person who refused or failed to furnish information or a document that he is required to furnish under section 5(b).
(b)The following are liable to imprisonment of three years or a fine of thirty thousand liras:
(1)a person who did not deliver an abandoned asset to the General Guardian or to his representative upon their demand;
(2)a person who seized an asset, managed it, transferred it or delivered it to another person other than the General Guardian, or otherwise dealt with it, knowing that the asset is abandoned or that this Law may apply to it, and without being lawfully authorised to do so.
Application of Provisions§
19.
(a)For the purposes of sections 8 and 9 of the Law for the Amendment of Civil Procedure (the State as a Party), 5718-1958, and sections 2 to 4, 8 and 9 of the Civil Wrongs (State Liability) Law, 5712-1952, the General Guardian shall have the same status as the State.
(b)The General Guardian or a person who acted by virtue of his authority shall not bear liability for damage they caused if they acted in accordance with the instructions of a court or with its approval.
Management of Property under Another Law§
20.
(a)Sections 4, 9(b) to 12, 14, 16, 17, 19 and 23(b) of this Law shall also apply when the General Guardian manages assets under another law, including assets that he managed on the eve of the commencement of this Law.
(b)Where the General Guardian managed an asset of a person under another law, without a court order, and that person has died, the General Guardian shall, from the date of death, be deemed to be managing the asset pursuant to a management order under this Law.
Property of an "Enemy"§
21.
Assets that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, were vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property under the Trading with the Enemy Ordinance, 1939, shall, from the commencement of this Law, be deemed to have been released from the provisions of that Ordinance and as if a management order had been made in respect of them.
Transitional Provisions§
22.
Assets that, pursuant to an order under the General Guardian Ordinance, 1944 (hereinafter – previous order), were vested in the General Guardian or were being managed by him or by another person, shall, from the commencement of this Law, be deemed as if a management order or an order under section 8(a), as the case may be, had been made in respect of them on that day; however, the period referred to in section 15(c) shall be calculated from the commencement of the previous order.
Calculation of the General Guardian's Remuneration§
22a.
(a)The remuneration of the General Guardian as prescribed in Regulations under section 23(a)(2) (hereinafter – the remuneration) shall be calculated –
(1)in respect of the assets referred to in section 21 – from the date of their vesting in the Custodian of Enemy Property;
(2)in respect of assets as referred to in section 22 that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, were vested in the General Guardian or were being managed by him – from the date of the making of the previous order;
(3)in respect of assets that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, were managed by the General Guardian under another law – from the commencement of management.
(b)Where, before the commencement of this Law, a fee was paid to the Custodian of Enemy Property or to the General Guardian in respect of the management of assets as referred to in subsection (a), the amount of the fee so paid shall be deducted from the remuneration, together with linkage differentials on that amount, which shall be calculated in accordance with the increase in the consumer price index, from the index published shortly before the payment of the fee to the index published shortly before the payment of the remuneration.
Implementation and Regulations§
23.
(a)The Minister of Justice is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations on all matters relating to its implementation, including in respect of –
(1)remuneration that the General Guardian is entitled to pay to a representative appointed by him under section 4(a);
(2)remuneration to be paid to the General Guardian for his actions under this Law or under another law;
(3)the ways and manner of holding or investing the funds by the General Guardian as required for the purpose of preserving the principal and ensuring the yield, including guidelines and considerations for the selection of the manner of investing funds as aforesaid; Regulations under this paragraph require the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset.
(b)A court is empowered to increase or reduce the rate of remuneration prescribed under subsection (a)(2) if the circumstances so warrant.
Repeal§
24.
The General Guardian Ordinance, 1944 – is hereby repealed.
Amendment of Laws§
25.
(a)In section 27 of the Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons Law, 5715-1955 –
(1)in subsection (a), instead of "and the provisions of sections 44, 47, 57 and 72 of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962, shall apply" there shall come "and the provision of section 72 of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962, shall apply";
(2)subsection (c) – is repealed.
(b)In section 14 of the Limitation Law, 5718-1958, at the end of the definition of "party" there shall come "and in respect of an asset under the management of the General Guardian – the owner of the asset".
(c)In section 65 of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962, after "54 in fine" there shall come "57".
Commencement§
26.
This Law shall commence upon the expiry of six months from the date of its publication.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Read the entire law on one page — continuous text, no page breaks, plus PDF downloads.
LawReal Estate & LandCivil Law
חוק האפוטרופוס הכללי, תשל"ח-1978
guardianship law
general guardian law
apotrpos law
guardian act
guardianship act 1978
israel guardianship law
general guardianship
guardian legislation
guardianship statute
apotropsus