Does Israel have forced heirship rules, or can I leave my Israeli estate to anyone I choose?

A client in Paris, used to the réserve héréditaire that hands each child a fixed and untouchable slice of the estate, is usually startled to hear the Israeli answer: children are guaranteed nothing. Israel lets you write your Israeli assets to whomever you want. The instinct that a child cannot be cut out, so deeply built into French law, simply does not carry across to an Israeli apartment.

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Detailed Explanation

The governing principle sits in the Succession Law 1965, and it is freedom of testation. Section 27 makes void any provision that tries to restrict a testator's freedom to make, change, or revoke a will, and there is no counterpart to the French reserved share. A parent can leave everything to one child, to a spouse, to a charity, or to a stranger. The intestacy rules that split an estate between spouse and children under Sections 10 to 11 only step in when there is no valid will at all, so they are a default, not a floor.

For a French resident the decisive point is which law governs the asset. Israeli immovable property is governed by Israeli succession law regardless of where the owner lived, so an Israeli apartment passes under the Israeli will and the Israeli rules, not under the French reserve. A child who would have an automatic claim in France cannot usually reach back and claw a share out of a Tel Aviv flat that a valid Israeli will gave to someone else. This is one reason the note on inheriting Israeli property as a French resident treats the Israeli estate as a separate track from the French succession, often handled by a separate Israeli will.

There is one genuine limit, and it is not a fixed share. Sections 56 to 57 let certain dependants the deceased was legally obliged to support, a spouse, a minor or studying child, or a needy parent, claim maintenance out of the estate. It is needs-based, capped by what the person actually requires, time-limited, and decided by the Family Court. A comfortable adult child who was not being supported has no claim. So the closest thing Israel has to forced heirship protects the dependent, not the bloodline.

In Practice: Under Section 56 of the Succession Law 1965 a dependant such as a studying child can be awarded maintenance from the estate, for example NIS 3,000 to NIS 6,000 a month for a defined period, decided by the Family Court. The claim must be filed within six months of the succession or probate order under Section 57, though the court can extend it. Filing costs a court fee of a few hundred shekels plus counsel, and an uncontested maintenance application at the Tel Aviv Family Court is typically heard within three to six months.

Key Considerations

• Israel has no reserved portion, so children have no automatic right to a share of a parent's estate.
• Section 27 of the Succession Law 1965 protects full freedom of testation.
• Israeli real estate is governed by Israeli law, so a foreign forced-heirship rule usually cannot override an Israeli will over an Israeli flat.
• Dependants can claim needs-based maintenance under Sections 56 to 57, but this is not a fixed inheritance share.
• Intestacy shares apply only when there is no valid will.

When to Consult a Lawyer

This question typically requires professional legal advice when:

• You hold both French and Israeli assets and want an Israeli will that will not be undone by a French reserved-share claim.
• You intend to leave your Israeli estate unequally between children and expect one of them to contest it.
• A dependant with a possible maintenance claim survives you and you want to plan around it in advance.

A qualified Israeli attorney should draft the Israeli will and confirm how it interacts with the succession law of the country where you live.

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

We prepare Israeli wills for non-residents that use Israel's freedom of testation, coordinate them with a French or other home-country estate plan, and defend or bring dependant-maintenance claims at the Family Court.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.