Can a relative in an Israeli psychiatric hospital sign a power of attorney?

A brother is admitted to a psychiatric ward in Be'er Sheva, the rent on his apartment is unpaid, and the family in Toronto wants a power of attorney signed so somebody can act. The instinct is to ask whether he is "allowed" to sign. Israeli law does not frame it that way. He is presumed capable until a court says otherwise, and the real obstacle is a procedural rule about notaries that almost nobody outside the profession knows exists.

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Detailed Answer

The Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962 presumes capacity in every adult, and nothing in the Treatment of Mental Patients Law 5751-1991 changes that. A Section 9 hospitalisation order, or the initial seven days plus seven under Section 10, authorises detention and treatment. It says nothing about whether the patient can sell a flat or appoint an agent. Where the barrier actually sits is Regulation 4(e) of the Notaries Regulations 5737-1977: a notary may not certify the act of a person hospitalised in a hospital, or confined to bed at home, unless a medical certificate in the form set out in the First Schedule is produced, issued on the day the act is performed, and attached to the copy the notary retains. Same day, not the week before. That certificate is the entire ball game, because Section 19 of the Notaries Law 5736-1976 otherwise makes a notarial certificate sufficient evidence in any proceeding without further proof, and Section 20 provides that a general power of attorney is invalid unless made by a notary. Take away the certificate and the document is not weak evidence, it is void.

For a family abroad this means the sequence has to be built backwards. You instruct an Israeli notary who is willing to attend the ward, coordinate with the treating psychiatrist for a certificate dated that day, and confirm in advance that the notary will read the document to the patient in a language he masters. A refusal to certify is common and is not an insult to the family: notaries carry personal liability, and a bedside power of attorney over an apartment is exactly the document that later gets attacked. When you get the retained file, keep it. In a dispute, the paper that matters is the notary's own retained copy with the medical certificate attached, not the clean certificate that was handed to the bank. If capacity has genuinely gone, the power of attorney route is closed and so is the enduring power of attorney (yipui koach mitmashech), which under Amendment 18 to the 1962 Law can only be signed while the person still understands what they are doing. What remains is a guardianship application to the Family Court under Section 33(a)(4), filtered through the Section 33A least-restrictive requirement in force since 11 April 2017, with the person heard under Section 36. Our guide to guardianship of a parent in Israel from abroad sets out how a non-resident applicant runs that process without relocating.

In Practice: Under the Notaries Regulations (Service Fees) 1978, certifying a signature costs NIS 197 for the first signer and NIS 77 for each additional one, with a will attestation at NIS 293, and most notaries add a call-out charge for attending a ward. The Notaries Department at the Ministry of Justice supervises compliance with Regulation 4(e), and the First Schedule certificate must bear the same date as the signature. Where capacity has been lost, a guardianship file at the Family Court runs three to nine months, with a court fee around NIS 550 and legal costs of NIS 8,000 to NIS 20,000.

When to Consult a Lawyer

• The document is a will rather than a power of attorney. Section 26 of the Succession Law 1965 voids a will made by someone who at the time did not know the nature of a will, and a psychiatric admission around the signing date is the first thing a disappointed heir will point to.
• Another relative already has a signed power of attorney from the ward. Ask for the notary's retained file, not the certificate they are waving. If no First Schedule certificate dated that day is attached, the instrument can be challenged before any money moves.
• The bank or the Land Registry has refused the document. Israeli registries treat Regulation 4(e) defects as fatal rather than curable, and the fix is usually a fresh signing with the certificate in place, which is impossible once the patient deteriorates.

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

We arrange a notary who will attend the ward, coordinate the same-day medical certificate with the treating psychiatrist, and tell you honestly when the power of attorney route has closed and guardianship is the only remaining option.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.