Realization of a deceased person’s estate

Table of Contents

Heirs (by law or by will), who wish to exercise the assets of a deceased person (the testator), must submit an application to the Registrar of Inheritance

If the person who died made a will, an application called “application for a will execution order” must be submitted

If the person who died did not make a will, an application known as an “application for an inheritance order” must be submitted

After the death of a person (the testator), the assets he left behind (money, real estate, movables, etc.) called “estate”, are distributed among his heirs.

• If the person made a will, the estate will be distributed according to what is stated in it.
• If the person did not make a will, the estate will be distributed according to the law.
• If a person has no heirs at all, his estate will go to the state.

Submitting an application for the realization (distribution and acceptance) of the estate

• In order for heirs to be able to receive their share of the estate and be its legal owners, one of two applications must be submitted to the Registrar of Inheritance Matters:
• If the person who died made a will, an application known as “application for a will execution order” must be submitted.
• If the person who died did not make a will, an application known as an “application for an inheritance order” must be submitted.

pay attention

• If the testator deposited his will with the Registrar of Inheritance and did not share this with his relatives, this will be revealed when his heirs contact the Registrar of Inheritance with one of the applications.
• A person can make several wills in his lifetime, but the last will he made is the one that determines (and cancels the previous ones), even if it was not deposited with the registrar of inheritance matters.

• If the will does not include all of the assets of the deceased person, in addition to the request for a will o

rder, a request for an inheritance order can be submitted for the property not included in the will.

What happens if the deceased has no heirs?

• If the deceased has no heirs, according to law or according to a will, his estate passes to the administration of the state. After a few years, if no heirs are found, the estate will become the property of the state.
• The general guardian division of the Ministry of Justice is responsible for managing the estate.
• The assets of the estate will be used by the state for the purposes of education, science, health and relief only.

Also, the Minister of Finance may, at his discretion, grant or pay from the assets of the person who died, to one or more of these:

• To a person who, on the eve of the deceased’s death, was dependent on the deceased for his finances.
• To a person or corporation that the deceased, on the eve of his death, depended on for his finances.
• To a relative of the deceased or his spouse, who does not belong to the list of legal heirs established by law.

Important Information

• Realizing the estate and receiving the inheritance may involve various issues, including the realization of funds in banks, provident funds, rights from work and insurance, settlement of the deceased’s debts, and even payment of severance pay to the deceased’s employee.
• Every person who has a will, must deliver it to the court (original or certified copy) immediately after learning of the death of the testator (the person who made the will). Failure to comply with this provision constitutes a criminal offense.

Waiver of inheritance (withdrawal of an heir)

An heir who is not interested in his part of the estate, may renounce it (all or part of it)

An heir may give up a specific asset when the asset was separated from others in the will or when it was agreed upon between the heirs in an agreement

Those who have left are seen as if they had never been an heir, and the duties of an heir do not apply to them

Withdrawal takes effect upon submission of the affidavit of withdrawal, and cannot be reversed

example

• The heir who is entitled to 200,000 NIS from the estate, chooses to get rid of 50% of his right to the estate and receive only 100,000 NIS.
• If you did not specify specifically in favor of the person who left, the 100,000 NIS that he gave up will be added to the share of the other heirs.

example

• The heir who is entitled to NIS 300,000 from the estate, and is also entitled to 25% of the rights in real estate, chooses to withdraw only from his rights in the property and receive the entire monetary amount.
• If you did not specify specifically in favor of the person who left, 25% of the rights in the property, which he waived, will be added to the share of the other heirs.

example

An heir who is entitled to 50% of the rights in a real property, chooses to get rid of all her rights in the property in favor of the testator’s child.

who is eligible

• Heir by law or by will.

pay attention

A will cannot limit the right of any of the heirs to withdraw from their share of the inheritance.

The manner of exercising the right

• It is possible to declare the withdrawal from the inheritance only in the period of time between the death of the testator and the date of the distribution of the estate.
• An affidavit regarding leaving an estate must be submitted to the Registrar of Inheritance Matters, or to the Family Court if the matter has been transferred to him.
• If possible, it is advisable to attach the affidavit as part of the application procedure for a will order or an application for an inheritance order.
• The heir will specify in the affidavit the requested withdrawal rate.
• If it is a specific departure, the heir must explicitly state for the benefit of whom he left (for the benefit of the testator’s spouse, child or brother).
• In the event that the heir who wishes to withdraw is a minor (one who has not yet turned 18) or is legally incompetent, permission to withdraw must be obtained from the court.
• The withdrawal will be effective from the date of submission of the withdrawal affidavit to the registrar or the court, as the case may be, and there is no need to obtain permission to withdraw.
• However, the court may annul the withdrawal if it is determined that it was done in bad faith (for example, with the aim of avoiding debts), so it is advisable to seek legal advice before taking the procedure.

Waiver of a specific asset

• An heir can give up a specific asset that he is supposed to receive from the testator, only if the testator left a will and only if the asset was separated in the will from other parts of the estate.

example

If she bequeaths an apartment to her son and all other parts of the estate in her will, she chooses to divide equally among her children. The son will be able to give up the apartment, because in the framework of the will the apartment was separated from the other parts of the estate.

• An heir cannot give up a specific property in any of the following cases:
• The property was not distinguished in the will from other parts of the estate.
• The testator did not leave a will and then 18 Even if there are inheritance rules according to law (in this case an heir can only give up a percentage of his share in the estate and not a specific asset).

example

• A mother bequeaths an apartment, a car and a plot of land to her two children equally.
• Each of the children can give up only the part given to them (50% of the entire estate), but none of them can give up their share in the apartment only, the car only or the plot of land only.
• In any case, the heirs can reach an agreement within the framework of an agreement on how to divide the estate. In this way it will be possible to give up a specific property.

example

• In the previous example, the children could reach an agreement that one child would get the apartment and the other child would get the car and the plot of land.
• The children can also agree on a different way of division.
• If they do not reach an agreement, each will be entitled to half of each of the assets and none of them will be able to give up a particular asset.

Important Information

• An heir who has left cannot withdraw the withdrawal.
• It is possible to leave after a decree for the maintenance of a will or inheritance order has been issued, but it is not possible to leave after the estate (inheritance) has been divided.

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