Translation Notice — This is an English translation of a Hebrew law and may contain inaccuracies. In any dispute or legal matter, the original Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) is the sole authoritative and legally binding version.

Law

Inheritance Law, 5725-1965

חוק הירושה

Chapter III: Succession by Will

Section A: Form of the Will

Forms of the Will

18.

A Will is made in handwriting, by witnesses, before an authority, or orally.

Handwritten Will

19.

A handwritten Will shall be written entirely in the hand of the testator, shall bear a date written in his hand, and shall be signed by his hand.

Will by Witnesses

20.

A Will by witnesses shall be in writing, shall be dated, and shall be signed by the hand of the testator in the presence of two witnesses after he has declared before them that this is his Will; the witnesses shall confirm at that same occasion, by their signatures on the face of the Will, that the testator declared and signed as aforesaid.

Deposit of a Will

21.

[Amendment: 1995, 1998]

(a)A person who has made a handwritten Will or a Will by witnesses may deposit it with the Registrar for Inheritance Matters; the deposit shall be effected by delivery of the Will by the testator himself to the Registrar for Inheritance Matters.

(b)A Will that has been deposited and kept in deposit pursuant to this Section until the death of the testator shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person named therein as testator made the Will and that it was made no later than the date of deposit.

(c)Nothing in this Section shall derogate from the right of the testator to retrieve at any time a Will that he has deposited.

Will Before an Authority

22.

[Amendment: 1976-3, 1995, 1998, 2018]

(a)A Will before an authority shall be made by the testator by stating the provisions of the Will orally before a judge, a Registrar of a court, or a Registrar for Inheritance Matters, or before a member of a religious court, within the meaning of Section 155, or by submitting the provisions of the Will in writing, by the testator himself, to a judge or a Registrar of a court, a Registrar for Inheritance Matters, or a member of a religious court as aforesaid.

(b)The provisions of the Will as recorded by the judge, the Registrar of the court, the Registrar for Inheritance Matters, or the member of the religious court, or as submitted to him, shall be read before the testator; he shall declare that this is his Will; and the judge, the Registrar of the court, the Registrar for Inheritance Matters, or the member of the religious court shall confirm by his signature on the face of the Will that it was read and that the testator declared as aforesaid.

(c)If the Will was written in a language that the testator does not understand, it shall be read before him in a translation into a language that he understands, and the translator shall attest to this on the face of the Will.

(d)Instead of the Will or its translation being read before the testator, the testator himself may read the Will or its translation.

(e)A Will made before an authority may be deposited with the Registrar for Inheritance Matters.

(f)A Will before an authority shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person named therein as testator made the Will and that it was made on the date and at the place stated therein as the date and place of its making.

(g)For the purposes of this Section, a notary shall have the same status as a judge.

Oral Will

23.

[Amendment: 1995, 1998]

(a)A person on their deathbed, as well as a person who, in circumstances justifying such, considers himself facing imminent death, may make an oral Will before two witnesses who understand his language.

(b)The words of the testator, noting the date and the circumstances of the making of the Will, shall be recorded in a memorandum which shall be signed by the two witnesses and deposited by them with the Registrar for Inheritance Matters; such recording, signing, and deposit shall be carried out as soon as reasonably possible after it becomes practicable to do so.

(c)An oral Will becomes void one month after the circumstances that justified its making have passed and the testator is still alive.

Disqualification of Witnesses

24.

A minor and a person who has been declared legally incompetent are not competent to serve as witnesses to the making of a Will under this Division.

Validation of a Will Notwithstanding a Defect or Deficiency in its Form

25.

[Amendment: 1985, 2004, 2023]

(a)Where the essential elements of a Will are present, and the Registrar for Inheritance Matters or the Court, as the case may be, has no doubt that it reflects the free and genuine wish of the testator, such Registrar or Court may, by a reasoned decision, validate it even if a defect occurred in one of the particulars or one of the procedures specified in Sections 19, 20, 22, or 23, or in the competence of the witnesses, or in the absence of one of such particulars or one of such procedures.

(b)In this Section, the "essential elements of a Will" are:

(1)in a handwritten Will as referred to in Section 19 – the entire Will is written in the testator's own handwriting;

(2)in a Will by witnesses as referred to in Section 20 – the Will is in writing and the testator presented it before two witnesses;

(3)in a Will before an authority as referred to in Section 22 – the Will was declared before an authority or submitted to an authority by the testator personally;

(4)in an oral Will as referred to in Section 23 – the Will was declared by the testator personally before two witnesses who understand his language, at a time when he was on his deathbed or at a time when he regarded himself, in circumstances justifying such regard, as facing imminent death.

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Section B: Validity of the Will

Testamentary Capacity

26.

A Will made by a minor, or by a person who has been declared legally incompetent, or made at a time when the testator was unable to understand the nature of a Will — is void.

Freedom to Testify

27.

(a)An undertaking to make a Will, to alter it or to revoke it, or to refrain from doing any of these — is of no effect.

(b)A provision in a Will that negates or restricts the testator's right to alter the Will or to revoke it — is void.

The Will — A Personal Act

28.

(a)A Will may only be made by the testator personally.

(b)A provision in a Will whose validity is made contingent upon the wish of a person other than the testator — is void.

Delegation of Determination and Power of Selection

29.

The testator may not delegate to another the determination of the person who shall benefit from the Estate, or the determination of the proportionate share or the portion that a person shall receive; however, if the testator has specified in the Will persons from among whom a beneficiary is to be chosen, or has specified assets from among which a portion is to be chosen, the person designated by the testator in the Will for that purpose may make the selection; and if the testator did not so designate, or if designated but the selection was not made within a reasonable time, the Court or a person appointed by the Court shall make the selection.

Duress, Threat, etc.

30.

(a)A provision in a Will made as a result of duress, threat, undue influence, fraud or deceit — is void.

(b)A provision in a Will made as a result of a mistake — if it is possible to determine with certainty what the testator would have directed in the Will but for the mistake, the Court shall rectify the wording of the Will accordingly; if it is not possible to do so — the provision of the Will is void.

Non-Revocation of a Defective Will

31.

If one year has elapsed from the day on which the duress, threat, undue influence or fraud ceased to operate upon the testator, or from the day on which the testator became aware of the fraud or mistake, and the testator had the ability to revoke the Will and did not do so, that defect shall no longer be sufficient to void or rectify the provision of the Will.

Clerical Error, etc.

32.

[Amendment: 5758]

If a clerical error has occurred in a Will, or an error in the description of a person or of an asset, in a date, a number, a calculation or the like, and it is possible to determine with certainty the true intention of the testator, the error shall be corrected by the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs, or by the Court when the matter has been referred to it pursuant to Section 67a.

Ambiguous Will, etc.

33.

A provision in a Will from which it cannot be ascertained to whom the testator made a bequest, or what was bequeathed, or whose meaning cannot be understood — is void.

Unlawful Will, etc.

34.

A provision in a Will whose execution is unlawful, immoral or impossible — is void.

Will in Favour of Witnesses, etc.

35.

A provision in a Will — other than an oral Will — that confers a benefit upon the person who drafted it, or who was a witness to its making, or who otherwise took part in its drafting, and a provision in a Will that confers a benefit upon the spouse of any such person — is void.

Revocation by the Testator

36.

(a)The testator may revoke the Will, either by express revocation in one of the forms for making a Will, or by destruction of the Will; if the testator destroyed the Will, it is presumed that the testator intended thereby to revoke it.

(b)A new Will, even if it does not expressly revoke a prior Will, shall be regarded as revoking the prior Will to the extent that the provisions of the new Will are inconsistent with the provisions of the prior Will, unless the new Will merely supplements what is stated in the prior Will.

Application

37.

For the purposes of this Division, "a provision of a Will" includes also the entire Will, a part thereof, and any of its conditions.

Partial Revocation of a Will

38.

(a)If a matter that is unlawful, immoral or impossible is prescribed in a Will as a condition for a benefit or as an obligation pursuant to Section 45, the condition or obligation is void, and this shall not operate to void the benefit that was subject to the condition or upon which the obligation was imposed.

(b)If a part, provision or condition of a Will becomes void other than as stated in sub-section (a), this shall not operate to void the remaining parts, provisions or conditions thereof, except to the extent that the Court finds them to be inextricably linked to what has been voided, or that the testator would not have wished them to stand without it.

Requirement of a Probate Order

39.

No rights under a Will may be claimed, and no document may be acted upon as a Will, unless a probate order has been granted in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of Chapter Five.

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Section C: Provisions of the Will

Subject Matter of the Will

40.

A person may bequeath to one or more persons —

(1)the whole of his Estate or a proportionate share of his entire Estate;

(2)an asset from among the assets of his Estate or a benefit from his Estate (in this Law — a "bequest").

Heir in Place of Heir

41.

[Amendment: 1985]

(a)A testator may bequeath to two persons on condition that the second shall take if the first does not take; the second shall take if the first died before the testator, or is found disqualified to inherit, or has renounced what is due to him otherwise than for the benefit of the spouse, child, or sibling of the deceased.

(b)Where the second takes, his status shall be the same as that of a person to whom the testator bequeathed from the outset.

(c)In this manner, the testator may also bequeath to more than two persons.

Heir After Heir

42.

(a)A testator may bequeath to two persons on condition that the second shall take after the first has taken; the second shall take upon the death of the first, or upon the fulfilment of the condition, or upon the arrival of the date specified for that purpose in the Will, whichever is the earliest.

(b)The first may deal with what he received as his own property, and the second shall take only what the first has left; however, the first may not diminish the right of the second by means of a Will.

(c)The second shall take if he was qualified to inherit from the testator at the time of his taking, even if he was not so qualified at the time of the testator's death; if the second died before the time of his taking, or is found disqualified to inherit, or has renounced what is due to him, the testamentary provision in his favour shall be void.

(d)A testamentary provision of this kind in favour of more than two persons shall be void, except for a provision in favour of a person who was alive at the time the Will was made.

Heir Subject to Suspensive Condition

43.

(a)A testator may bequeath that an heir shall take upon the fulfilment of a condition or upon the arrival of a date.

(b)If the condition was not fulfilled or the date did not arrive before the death of the testator, the Estate shall be administered by an estate administrator until the condition is fulfilled or the date arrives, or until it becomes clear that the condition can no longer be fulfilled; and the same shall apply where the testator bequeathed to a corporation that is not yet qualified to inherit in accordance with Section 4.

(c)If the testator did not specify who shall take if it becomes clear that the condition can no longer be fulfilled, the heirs by law shall take.

Heir Subject to Resolutive Condition

44.

(a)A testator may bequeath that an heir shall cease to take upon the fulfilment of a condition or upon the arrival of a date.

(b)If the testator did not specify who shall take upon the fulfilment of the condition or the arrival of the date, the heirs by law shall take as heirs after that heir in accordance with the provisions of Section 42.

Obligations of an Heir

45.

A testator may direct in his Will that an heir shall be obligated to do something, or to refrain from doing something, with respect to what he received from the Estate; the fulfilment of such an obligation may be demanded by any person having an interest in its fulfilment, and where the matter is of public concern — also by the Attorney General or his representative.

Will and Inheritance by Law

46.

Where a testator has bequeathed a proportionate share of his entire Estate to one of his heirs by law, that share shall come in place of what is due to that heir by law, and not in addition thereto.

Bequest and Share of the Estate

47.

Where a testator has made a bequest to a person who inherits by law or to a person who takes a proportionate share of the entire Estate under the Will, the bequest shall be in addition to the share of the Estate and not in place thereof.

Heirs Whose Shares Are Not Specified

48.

Where a testator has bequeathed to several persons and has not specified their respective shares, they shall share equally.

Substitute of a Testamentary Beneficiary

49.

[Amendment: 1985, 2024-3]

(a)Where a testamentary beneficiary died before the testator, and the testator did not designate another person to take in his place — if at the time of the testator's death descendants of that beneficiary survived, they shall take in accordance with the rules of distribution under inheritance by law; in any other case, the testamentary provision in favour of that beneficiary shall be void.

(b)Where a testamentary beneficiary who is a child or a descendant of a child of the deceased is found disqualified to inherit and has left children, the children shall take in his place, unless the testator designated another person to take in their place; however, the court may determine that the children shall not take in place of the person disqualified to inherit, if it is satisfied that it was the testator's wish that they should not take.

(c)Where a testamentary beneficiary who is not a child or a descendant of a child of the deceased is found disqualified to inherit and has left children, the children shall not take in his place, unless the testator provided otherwise; however, the court may determine that the children shall take in place of the person disqualified to inherit, if it is satisfied that it was the testator's wish.

Disqualified Beneficiary and Renouncing Beneficiary

50.

[Amendment: 1985, 2024-3]

Where a testamentary beneficiary is found disqualified to inherit, or has renounced what is due to him otherwise than for the benefit of the spouse, child, or sibling of the deceased, and the testator did not designate another person to take in his place, the testamentary provision in his favour shall be void, unless the court has determined otherwise pursuant to Section 49.

Bequest of a Specific Asset

51.

(a)Where a testator has bequeathed a specific asset, the beneficiary shall take it in the condition in which the asset was at the time of the testator's death.

(b)The beneficiary is not entitled to demand from the other heirs the discharge of any charge with which the asset was encumbered by the testator.

(c)The beneficiary is not entitled to compensation from the other heirs if at the time of the testator's death the asset was not among his assets.

(d)The fruits of the asset and its expenses up to the time of the testator's death shall be for the account of the Estate; from that time onward they shall be for the account of the beneficiary, unless the beneficiary took the asset at a later date.

Bequest of an Unspecified Asset

52.

Where a testator has bequeathed an unspecified asset, the beneficiary is entitled to an asset of medium quality.

Subordination to Provisions of the Will

53.

The provisions of Sections 41 to 52, except for Section 42(d), apply to the extent that the Will does not contain other provisions.

Interpretation of the Will

54.

(a)A Will shall be interpreted according to the intention of the testator as it is implied by the Will, and to the extent that it is not implied therefrom — as it is implied by the circumstances.

(b)Where a Will is open to different interpretations, the interpretation that upholds it is preferable to an interpretation under which it is void.

(c)A Will may be expressed in the language of a gift, waiver, or acknowledgment, or in any other language.

Quasi-Will

55.

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 or her death neither of them was married to another person, the surviving partner shall be deemed as if the deceased had bequeathed to him or her what the surviving partner would have received by inheritance under the law had they been married to each other, provided that there is no other provision, express or implied, in the Will left by the deceased.

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