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Succession Law, 5725-1965

חוק הירושה, תשכ"ה-1965

Published: 1965-02-10Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-01-01 · Last amended 2024-07-07✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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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.

Chapter IV: Maintenance from the Estate

Right to Maintenance§

56.

Where the deceased leaves a spouse, children or parents who are in need of maintenance, they are entitled to maintenance from the estate in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, whether in intestate succession or in succession by will.

Scope of Right to Maintenance§

57.
(a)The right to maintenance is—
(1)for the spouse of the deceased — for as long as he or she remains a widow or widower; however, the court may grant a lump-sum payment to a widow of the deceased who remarries if the court considers it appropriate to do so in the circumstances of the matter and having regard to the rights of the children of the deceased;
(2)for the children of the deceased — until the age of 18; for a disabled child — for as long as the disability continues; for a child who is mentally ill — for as long as he is mentally ill; and for a child with an intellectual-developmental disability — as defined in the Welfare (Care of Persons with Intellectual-Developmental Disability) Law, 5729-1969;
(3)for an adult child of the deceased whom the court considers it appropriate in the circumstances to award maintenance — until the age of 23;
(4)for the parents of the deceased whose maintenance was his responsibility on the eve of his death — for the rest of their lives.
(b)A spouse who, on the eve of the deceased's death, had been deprived of the right to receive maintenance from the deceased, is not entitled to maintenance from the estate.
(c)Where a man and a woman are living together as a family in a shared household but are not married to each other, and one of them dies and at the time of his death neither of them was married to another person, the survivor is entitled to maintenance from the estate as if they had been married to each other.
(d)"Child", for the purposes of maintenance — includes a child born after the death of the deceased, a child born out of wedlock, an adopted child, and also a grandchild of the deceased who was orphaned before the death of the deceased or whose maintenance was the responsibility of the deceased on the eve of his death and whose parents are unable to provide for his maintenance.

Vocational Training Expenses§

58.

Maintenance from the estate includes the expenses of vocational training of the person entitled thereto.

Determination of Maintenance§

59.

In determining the entitlement to maintenance and its extent, the court shall take into account, inter alia:

(1)the value of the estate;
(2)what the person entitled to maintenance is likely to receive from the estate as a heir by law or as a beneficiary under a will;
(3)the standard of living of the deceased and of the person entitled to maintenance as it was on the eve of the death of the deceased, and any change that has occurred in the needs of the person entitled thereto as a result of the death of the deceased;
(4)the assets of the person entitled to maintenance;
(5)the income of the person entitled to maintenance from any source whatsoever, provided that in respect of the spouse of the deceased the court shall not take into account income from his or her work or occupation except to the extent that such income also served, on the eve of the death of the deceased, for the maintenance of the family or of the spouse;
(6)maintenance that the person entitled may receive under sections 2 or 3 of the Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Law, 5719-1959;
(7)in respect of the spouse of the deceased — what is due to him or her on a cause arising from the matrimonial bond, including what the wife receives under a ketubbah.

Application for Determination of Maintenance§

60.
(a)An application for the determination of maintenance shall be submitted to the court before the distribution of the estate; however, the court may entertain an application submitted within six months after the distribution of the estate if it finds that the circumstances so justify.
(b)The court may award maintenance retroactively from the date of the death of the deceased; and it may also award interim maintenance pending the final determination of the application.
(c)(Repealed)

Manner of Providing Maintenance§

61.
(a)The court shall determine that maintenance be provided by way of periodical payments; however, it may determine that it be provided by a lump-sum payment, or partly in one form and partly in the other, if it finds that the circumstances so justify.
(b)The court may determine the manner of providing maintenance, including —
(1)who shall provide the maintenance and to whom it shall be provided;
(2)securing the maintenance by way of deposit, investment, annuity insurance, charge, or otherwise.
(c)The court may make the provision of maintenance subject to conditions if it finds that the circumstances so justify.
(d)Where periodical payments have been determined, any party may, at any time, apply for a variation of the manner or conditions of their provision, or for their replacement by a lump-sum payment.

Discovery of Facts and Change of Circumstances§

62.
(a)Where maintenance has been determined, the person entitled to maintenance may apply for an increase thereof, and the heirs may apply for a reduction or cancellation thereof and for the return of a lump-sum payment, in whole or in part, as the case may be, if facts have come to light that existed at the time the maintenance was determined and were not known to the applicant at that time.
(b)Where periodical payments have been determined, the person entitled to maintenance may apply for an increase thereof, and the heirs may apply for a reduction or cessation thereof, if there has been a change in the circumstances that existed at the time of their determination, provided that an application under this subsection shall not be submitted to the court before the expiry of one year from the date of the court's previous decision, and the court may decline to take into account a change in circumstances that the applicant could have foreseen at the time of the previous hearing.
(c)A heir shall not be liable under this section to pay maintenance except up to the value of what he received from the estate, and if he received property of the estate in good faith — up to the value of what remains in his possession; and a person entitled to maintenance shall not be liable to return a lump-sum payment he received except up to the value of what he received, and if he received it in good faith — up to the value of what remains in his possession.

Augmentation of the Estate for Maintenance Purposes§

63.
(a)If the estate is insufficient to provide maintenance for all those entitled thereto, the court may treat as part of the estate anything given by the deceased without adequate consideration within two years before his death, excluding gifts and donations given in accordance with the custom in the circumstances of the matter.
(b)The court may order the recipient to restore to the estate or to pay maintenance up to the value of what remains in his possession at the time of the death of the deceased, and if he received in bad faith — up to the value of what he received.
(c)The recipient may deduct the consideration he gave, or its value, from what he is required to restore or pay.

Order of Priority among Those Entitled§

64.

If the estate is insufficient to provide maintenance for all those entitled thereto, the court may, according to the circumstances, apportion it among them or award maintenance to those who appear to it to be most in need thereof.

Transactions in the Right to Maintenance§

65.
(a)An agreement concerning maintenance under this Chapter and a waiver thereof, if made during the lifetime of the deceased — are void, and if made after his death, require the approval of the court.
(b)A provision in a will that negates or restricts a right to maintenance under this Chapter — is void.
(c)A right to maintenance under this Chapter is not transferable, chargeable or attachable and does not pass by inheritance.

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Chapter V: Succession Order and Order for Execution of Will

National Supervisor and Registrars for Inheritance Matters§

65a.
(a)The General Guardian, within the meaning of section 2 of the General Guardian Law, 5738-1978, shall be the National Supervisor for Inheritance Matters (hereinafter — the National Supervisor), and the Deputy General Guardian shall be the Deputy National Supervisor.
(b)Each of the deputies of the General Guardian who is qualified to serve as a judge of a Magistrate's Court shall be a Registrar for Inheritance Matters.
(c)The Minister of Justice may appoint, in addition to the Registrars under subsection (b), a State employee over whom the General Guardian has supervision, who is qualified to serve as a judge of a Magistrate's Court, as a Registrar for Inheritance Matters.
(d)The Minister of Justice shall determine, by notice in Reshumot, the areas of operation of the Registrars for Inheritance Matters.
(e)The names of the deputies of the General Guardian who are Registrars for Inheritance Matters under the provisions of subsection (b) and the names of the Registrars for Inheritance Matters appointed under subsection (c) shall be published in Reshumot.

Declaration of the Rights of Heirs§

66.
(a)The Registrar for Inheritance Matters may declare the rights of the heirs: in intestate succession — by means of a succession order; in testamentary succession — by means of an order for execution of a will (hereinafter — execution order).
(b)Where the deceased has bequeathed part of his property, an execution order shall be issued in respect of that part, and a succession order shall be issued in respect of the remainder.

Submission of Objections§

67.

Where an application for a succession order or an execution order has been filed, the Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall give public notice thereof and shall fix an appropriate period of not less than two weeks for the submission of objections; any interested party may submit an objection to the Registrar for Inheritance Matters within the period fixed and as long as the order has not been issued.

Issuance of Succession Order and Execution Order by the Court§

67a.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 66(a), an application for a succession order or an execution order filed with the Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall be transferred to the court in any of the following:
(1)an objection to the application has been filed;
(2)the State or one of its institutions is a party to the application;
(3)the Attorney General or his representative has seen fit to initiate proceedings in the matter of the application or to join the proceedings;
(4)the General Guardian represents in the application a person whose property is administered by the General Guardian, or an absentee;
(5)(Deleted)
(6)(Deleted)
(7)(Deleted)
(8)the Registrar for Inheritance Matters has seen fit to transfer the application to the court.
(b)An application whose hearing has been transferred to the court under subsection (a) shall be regarded as a claim under section 1 of the Family Court Law, 5755-1995, and the court may declare the rights of the heirs as stated in section 66.
(c)Where the court has issued a succession order or an execution order under this section, a copy of the order shall be transferred to the Registrar for Inheritance Matters for the purpose of registration under section 73d.

Evidence§

68.
(a)The fact of a person's death and the time of his death require proof by a death certificate or a declaration of death, unless the court or the Registrar for Inheritance Matters has permitted, for special reasons that shall be recorded, proof thereof in another manner.
(b)A will, other than an oral will, requires proof by the submission of the original; where it has been proved that the original was destroyed in a manner or in circumstances that do not have the effect of revoking the will, or that it is impossible to submit the original, the court or the Registrar for Inheritance Matters may permit the will to be proved by the submission of a copy or in another manner; however, where the original is outside Israel and cannot be submitted, and an execution order has been issued by a judicial instance or competent authority outside Israel — the will shall not require proof by submission of the original under this section if the said execution order has been proved by way of proving a foreign document under section 30 of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971.

Contents of a Succession Order and an Execution Order§

69.
(a)A succession order shall declare the names of the heirs and the proportionate share of each of them in the estate.
(b)An execution order shall declare that the will is valid except for such provisions thereof as the court has found to be void.

Changes after the Death of the Deceased§

70.
(a)Where a heir has died after the death of the deceased and before the issuance of the order, or where another change has occurred during that period, the order shall set out the particulars referred to in section 69 as they stand at the time of the issuance of the order.
(b)Where an estate administrator has been appointed, this shall be noted in the succession order or in the execution order.

Effect of a Succession Order and an Execution Order§

71.

A succession order and an execution order are effective against the whole world as long as they have not been amended or cancelled.

Amendment and Cancellation of a Succession Order and an Execution Order§

72.
(a)Where a Registrar for Inheritance Matters or a court has issued a succession order or an execution order, either of them may, in respect of orders issued by it, upon the application of an interested party, amend or cancel them on the basis of facts or arguments that were not before it at the time of the issuance of the order; however, where the Registrar for Inheritance Matters has seen fit not to take into account a fact or argument that the applicant could have brought before the issuance of the order, or could have brought thereafter and did not do so at the first reasonable opportunity, he shall transfer the application to the court.
(b)Where a succession order or an execution order has been amended or cancelled under the provisions of subsection (a), the Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall give public notice thereof and notify the heirs by law or the beneficiaries under the will.

Protection of a Purchaser in Good Faith§

73.

A person who has acquired a right in good faith and for consideration in reliance on a succession order or an execution order that was valid at that time, or a person who has discharged an obligation in good faith in such reliance, shall not have his right cancelled or be charged anew even if the order has subsequently been amended or cancelled.

Powers of the National Supervisor and his Deputy§

73a.
(a)The National Supervisor shall determine the working procedures of the Registrars for Inheritance Matters.
(b)The powers vested in the National Supervisor under this Law are also vested in the Deputy National Supervisor; the National Supervisor may give the Deputy National Supervisor instructions regarding the exercise of his powers.

Independence§

73b.
(a)In the discharge of his functions under this Law, a Registrar for Inheritance Matters is subject to no authority other than the authority of the law.
(b)A Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall not act as representative of the Attorney General in a matter in which he has dealt in any legal proceeding under this Law.

Powers of Inquiry§

73c.

The Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall have the powers vested in a commission of inquiry under sections 9 to 11 of the Commissions of Inquiry Law, 5729-1968, to the extent necessary for the performance of his functions under this Law.

National Register§

73d.

The National Supervisor shall maintain a national register of succession orders and probate orders, of applications for succession orders and probate orders, and of wills deposited under section 21; the particulars of the register and the manner of its maintenance shall be prescribed by Regulations.

Expenses§

74.

The expenses incurred in proceedings under this Chapter, in an amount determined by the court or the Registrar for Inheritance Matters, shall be charged to the estate unless the court or the Registrar for Inheritance Matters has directed that they shall be charged, in whole or in part, to another party.

Delivery of Will to Registrar for Inheritance Matters§

75.
(a)A person in possession of a will is obliged to deliver it, in the original or in a certified copy, to the Registrar for Inheritance Matters immediately upon learning of the death of the testator.
(b)A person who contravenes the provisions of this section is liable to imprisonment of three months or a fine.

Notice of Will§

76.

Where a will or a memorandum of an oral will has been deposited with a Registrar for Inheritance Matters, or a will has been delivered to him under section 75, and an application for probate of the will has not been submitted within three months after the death of the testator or after delivery of the will as aforesaid, whichever is later, the Registrar for Inheritance Matters shall give notice thereof to the persons entitled under the will and shall give public notice thereof; the particulars of the public notice shall be prescribed by Regulations.

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