Family Lawyer in Israel
Family legal matters are rarely just legal matters. Whether it’s a divorce, a property dispute, or a contested inheritance, people arrive at a family lawyer’s door at some of the most difficult points in their lives. What they need, beyond technical competence, is someone who understands the human weight of what they’re carrying — and who can translate that into effective legal strategy.
Attorney Rachel Schachar has been practicing family law in Israel since 2004 and is a registered member of the Israeli Bar Association. Over two decades, she has handled hundreds of complex family cases, earning recognition from The Legal 500, Dun’s Guide, and Global Law Experts.
How Do You Choose a Family Lawyer?
“A person comes to a family attorney when they are usually at the lowest point in their life,” explains Attorney Schachar. “Divorce — or any procedure that requires a family lawyer — takes an enormous amount out of a person. That’s why I work hard to give my clients the strength to get through it with as little damage as possible.”
Choosing the right family lawyer means finding someone who won’t simply process your case, but will actually stand behind you. Family law in Israel is governed by a distinct set of statutes — including the Family Courts Law, the Capacity and Guardianship Law, and Rabbinical Court jurisdiction where applicable — and navigating them requires both legal precision and a thorough understanding of how each forum operates in practice.
Divorce Proceedings in Israel
Divorce in Israel operates under a dual-track system: civil family courts handle financial and custody arrangements, while Rabbinical Courts hold exclusive jurisdiction over the granting of a religious divorce (get) for Jewish couples. This intersection is where some of the most difficult cases arise.
Attorney Schachar has handled cases involving divorce refusal — where one spouse withholds the get — as well as complex property division, disputes over prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and custody arrangements. Her approach is always to explore whether reconciliation or mediation is viable before litigation — as a certified mediator, she is qualified to facilitate that process formally — but when court proceedings are necessary, she is an experienced and determined advocate.
“People come to me and say that despite everything, they simply can’t continue to live like this,” she explains. “When two spouses have become roommates — when there is no communication, no shared life — that is often the clearest signal that divorce has become the only path forward.”
Division of Property and Alimony
Under Israeli law, the division of marital assets is primarily governed by the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 1973, which establishes the principle of resource balancing upon dissolution of marriage. In practice, this is one of the most contested areas of family law, involving questions about what constitutes joint versus separate property, how business assets are treated, and how to value property accumulated over long marriages.
Attorney Schachar notes that alimony law in Israel has undergone significant changes in recent years, with courts moving toward greater equality between fathers and mothers — including in matters of joint custody. She has secured precedent-setting rulings in this area and brings that experience to every case involving support obligations or custody disputes.
Inheritance Disputes Within Families
Some of the most emotionally charged cases Attorney Schachar handles sit at the intersection of family law and inheritance — situations where a will is contested, where children feel unfairly treated, or where a surviving spouse’s new relationship creates conflict over an estate.
“There are situations where a child who devoted years to caring for their parents discovers after the parents’ death that the property was left entirely to a sibling,” she explains. “That person then faces the battle of their life — trying to prove the will was invalid, or that undue influence was involved.”
Israeli inheritance law is governed by the Inheritance Law, 1965, which sets out the rules for both testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) succession. Understanding where a dispute falls within that framework — and whether it belongs in Family Court or the Registrar of Inheritances — is one of the first practical questions the firm addresses. For more on this area, see the firm’s dedicated page on inheritance disputes and challenges in Israel.
Appeals in Family Matters
Clients sometimes arrive after receiving an unfavorable judgment in a family court and want to understand their options. It’s worth knowing that the District Court, sitting as an appellate court, does not typically re-examine all the facts from scratch. In most cases it focuses on legal questions — whether the lower court applied the law correctly — rather than re-weighing the evidence.
That said, where there is evidence of substantial significance that the family court failed to properly consider, it is possible to argue that the appellate court should revisit the factual record. Whether an appeal is worth pursuing depends heavily on the specific grounds available. Attorney Schachar provides a frank assessment of those prospects from the outset rather than encouraging litigation that is unlikely to succeed.
This page was written by Attorney Rachel Schachar, a licensed family lawyer and notary in Israel since 2004, and a registered member of the Israeli Bar Association.
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How do you choose a family lawyer?
“A person comes to a family attorney when he is usually at the lowest point in his life personally,” explains Attorney Schachar, “and it doesn’t matter the reason for which he decided to divorce. The divorce procedure, or any other procedure that requires a family attorney, draws a lot of energy from the person Nefesh until sometimes a situation comes where I look on from the side and can’t believe how difficult it is. This is also the reason why I try very hard to give my clients the strength to go through this procedure with minimal mental damage.”
Even in cases of inheritance disputes, people feel that they have lost their family for money, and even then the level of emotions is very deep and it takes moderation of all parties to reach real results.
The main problem in inheritance legal disputes starts when one brother says to himself I have nothing and they already have so why shouldn’t I accept. He appoints himself a judge instead of his parents. Another problem is when the children feel that the parents’ money is their money and the parents are “wasting their inheritance”. This is mainly a problem of the children’s attitude and an understandable emotional difficulty for the parents.
Family lawyer what does that actually mean?
“One of the things that puts me in a different light compared to other attorneys, is my ability to wrap the client around. There are those who only come to me for a short meeting to get strength and then they continue. People enter eclipses, and they are left without mental powers. That’s what I’m here for.”
The cases she handled throughout her long career made her understand what divorce proceedings can do to a person. Therefore, her approach towards her clients is to advise them first of all not to get a divorce if this is possible, but she also understands that sometimes there are cases that cannot be forgiven or that cannot be bridged. As in cases of betrayal by one of the spouses or in an even sadder situation where there are significant differences between the two that cannot be reconciled.
There are many cases of betrayal in a relationship in which the partner realizes that it was a one-time stumble, but he is unable to find the mental strength to dance and enters a vicious circle of suspicions in a way that does not allow him to continue living with his partner. On the other hand, there are many couples for whom infidelity made a positive change in their relationship and they managed to restore the marital system.
“People come to me and tell me that despite all the grief over the divorce process, they can’t continue to live like this,” explains Attorney Schachar, “the couple don’t exchange a word, don’t have marital relations, and there’s no more life. In my eyes, this is also the clearest signal for distancing – the dramatic decline in marital relations.
This shows that the relationship is beginning to die because if they don’t get along and there is intimacy, then there is also intimacy and this strengthens the relationship. The difference can be accommodated. As soon as spouses become roommates, then divorce is imminent.”
According to Attorney Schachar, in recent times one can notice an increase in divorce cases among the elderly, the 70-year-olds and older, who know that they do not have many years left to live and they want a change. But one thing remains the same throughout all the cases: the question of whether the couple has The ability to end the procedure in a nice and proper way, and without unnecessary war.
How can you prevent war during the divorce procedure?
“Many times people fail to get the children out of the game, especially in a situation of betrayal in the relationship. In such a case, people don’t see a reason, enter the house and tell the children, for example, that their mother has cheated and that he, the father, will make sure to tell everyone about it. Then the children will be referred to mental health care later on their lives”. Moving the chikdren out of the war area is the most imp
Family lawyer How complex are family cases?
“One of the specialties I have created for myself in recent years is dealing with matters of inheritance. There is a situation where, for example, a child devoted to his parents will be exposed to a will after their death, and will see that all the property was bequeathed to another child. Then that one finds himself in the battle of his life to prove that the will was written illegally, and that he deserves to be Some of the heirs. I also see a lot of conflicts on the issue of mutual wills, when all the property is bequeathed to the spouse while still alive and vice versa. Then, if a person passes away and meets a new spouse, a problem begins. It is also important to know that there was a revolution in the field of alimony payments, and I won To be one of those who received precedent rulings in their favor. Currently, there is less discrimination between fathers and mothers, also in the matter of joint custody.”
The great difficulty for a family attorney is actually measuring success in such a sensitive field, so it’s worth simply looking at the reviews of clients across the network. Success is also not an absolute thing, as Attorney Schachar emphasizes, because one woman only wants her respect back and a man Another just wants fair treatment. And there are simply those who simply ask for someone to stand behind them and protect their rights, just like advocate Rachel Schachar does.
Lawyer for family matters
What is examined by the judges in an appeal against a judgment given in a court for family matters?
Many clients, when they come to file an appeal in family matters, mistakenly believe that the district court, which sits as an appeal court over the district court, will apply to the entire process from beginning to end. In practice, in most cases the appellate court will examine the legal issue that arises and not the facts. In case of a dispute on the issue of facts, the challenge will be to convince the district court that your facts are correct and then, naturally, the case becomes more complex.
At the same time, when it comes to legal discussions whose topic is family matters, there may be a situation where the panel of judges will reconsider the evidence presented in the case, and also consider referring to facts or evidence that the family court did not refer to. If it is evidence of substantial significance, it is possible that it will tip the scales and cause the judges in the district court or the Supreme Court to accept the appeal.
