Objection to a will in Israel is a legal procedure based on the Israeli Inheritance Law, the purpose of which is to prevent the granting of a maintenance order to a submitted will and at the end of the day lead to the invalidation of the will.
After the death of a person, the question arises as to how the property he left behind will be distributed. The inheritance law in Israel states that in the absence of a will, a person's heirs are his heirs according to the inheritance law in Israel. A will changes the basic rules of inheritance established by law, so that the person listed in the will will be the one who will be entitled to inherit all the property of the testator, if the will is legal and made in accordance with the law.
The need to submit an objection to a will arises when there is a suspicion that the will does not reflect the true will of the testator. The reasons for objecting to the execution of a will are determined in the Law of Inheritance and the rulings of the courts in Israel. Here are the main reasons recognized in Israeli law that have the power to invalidate an illegal will.
When on the face of it it appears that a will made by a person in his lifetime does not reflect his free will, for example when there is no reason for him to prefer the winner whose name is recorded in the will over his family, children and spouse. In those cases that raise suspicion that the will is illegal and does not reflect the free will of the testator, it is possible to file an objection to the will and have it disqualified. A lawyer for inheritance matters in Tel Aviv explains about the essential and common grounds of opposition that can cause the invalidation of the will, which will be detailed below. Lack of competence to make a will
The lack of capacity to make a will is a legal claim recognized in the Israeli inheritance law, as one that negates the validity of a will. This claim is usually made when the mitzvah was an elderly person, sick with various diseases or taking medication that impaired his judgment and his understanding of the meaning of his actions. A person who is incompetent to make a will is someone who actually cannot understand that he is making a will due to impairment of his judgment, and does not understand the consequences of the will on his heirs and assets.
In order to prove such a claim of a defect in the testator's capacity that deprived him of his free will and his ability to understand the meaning of his actions, one must have a medical opinion from an expert who examined the medical documents and came to the conclusion that the testator was not qualified to make a will, but even this way is limited since the medical examination is done retrospectively and based on medical documents, without the expert physically examining the testator. Another way to examine the testator's medical condition at the time of making the will is through the witnesses to the will who were present before the testator when he signed his will.
Forging the testator's signature in the will
Another claim that can invalidate a will is the forgery of the testator's signature in the will. This claim, if proven true, negates the validity of the will and will lead to its disqualification. To prove a forgery of a signature, you need to contact a handwriting expert who will compare the testator's signature over the years on various occasions with the testator's signature on the will. To get an opinion that is as accurate as possible, you need to collect as many examples of the testator's signature as possible. Examples of the testator's signature can be found in banks or in all kinds of medical or government institutions visited by the testator. Another way to prove signature forgery is through witnesses who know the testator's signature and can examine and testify whether the signature on the will is the testator's signature.
Unfair influence on the testator
A claim of opposition to a will, which is common, is a claim of unfair influence. A situation of unfair influence is a situation in which the heir in the will took advantage of the testator's dependence or took advantage of the testator's physical or mental condition in order for the testator to transfer all his property to him after his death. An example of such situations is for example a personal caregiver of the testator who takes advantage of his weakness and his need for her services in order for the testator to transfer his property to her. When unfair influence is proven, the person who influenced the testator will not be able to win his property. At the same time it should be noted that not every influence on the testator is unfair, for example when a child asks his father to bequeath him the assets there is nothing wrong with that, only when an element of unfairness is added to the influence then it can be considered an illegal action.
Consultation with a lawyer familiar with inheritance law in Israel
The article in front of you deals with the legal methods known in Israeli law that have the power to invalidate an illegal will. In any case, do not rely on what is written in the article since each case has its own private circumstances. In case you are interested in examining the legality of a will in Israel, it is recommended to get legal advice from a lawyer in Israel who is familiar with inheritance law and will give his professional opinion before taking legal proceedings.
The article was written by a lawyer from Kamri & Co. law office who deals in the field of inheritance in Israel.
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This article was written in cooperation with Kamri & co. law office