Making a will

To the will preparation questionnaire

When is it worth making a will?

Without a will, the estate is divided among the heirs according to the law. A will is needed when a different division is wanted, or to prevent a dispute. The common situations:

• Spouses who want all the property to pass first to the surviving spouse, and only afterwards to the children.
• A family with children from previous marriages.
• A wish to give one of the children more, less, or a particular asset, for example an apartment.
• Partners who are not married, or a wish to leave property to someone who is not a relative.
• An asset that should not be sold, or an heir who cannot manage property alone.

What types of will are there?

• Witnessed will (section 20). A will in writing, dated, which the testator signs before two witnesses after declaring before them that it is his will. The witnesses confirm by their signatures, on the same occasion, that the testator so declared and signed. This is the common form.
• Notarial will (section 22). A will before an authority is made before a judge, a registrar or a member of a religious court, and for this purpose a notary has the status of a judge (section 22(g)). The will is read to the testator, he declares that it is his will, and the notary confirms this by his signature. Such a will is prima facie evidence that the testator made it on the date and at the place stated in it (section 22(f)). For more, see Notarial will on the office's notary website.
• Handwritten will (section 19). A will written entirely in the testator's hand, bearing a date written in his hand and signed by him.
• Oral will (section 23). Only for a person who is on his deathbed or who, in circumstances that justify it, sees himself as facing death, before two witnesses. It becomes void one month after the circumstances have passed while the testator is still alive.

What are mutual wills?

Under section 8A of the Succession Law, spouses may make wills in reliance of each on the will of the other, in two documents drawn up at the same time or in one document. What is special about mutual wills is the way they are revoked:

• While both spouses are alive: the one who wishes to revoke his will gives written notice to the other spouse. Once notice is given, both wills are void.
• After the death of one spouse, before the estate is distributed: the surviving spouse who wishes to revoke his will renounces everything he is to receive under the deceased's mutual will.
• After the estate is distributed: he must return to the estate what he inherited, or its value.

These rules apply where the wills contain no other provision. A provision that entirely denies the right to revoke the will while both spouses are alive is void (section 8A(c)). So in mutual wills it is decided in advance whether the surviving spouse may change his will, and what happens if he remarries.

What may invalidate a will?

• Capacity. A will made by a minor, by a person declared legally incompetent, or at a time when the testator could not understand the nature of a will, is void (section 26).
• Undue influence. A provision of a will made because of coercion, threat, undue influence, deceit or fraud is void (section 30).
• Involvement of a beneficiary. A provision of a will that benefits the person who drafted it, witnessed it or otherwise took part in making it, or the spouse of any of these, is void (section 35). An heir therefore does not act as a witness to the will and is not involved in making it.
• Witnesses. A minor and a person declared legally incompetent are not competent to be witnesses (section 24).
• Defect in form. Where the basic components exist and there is no doubt that the will reflects the free and true wish of the testator, it may be probated despite a defect in its form (section 25). It is better not to get there.

A will is a personal act: it is made only by the testator himself (section 28). It is therefore right for the testator to meet the lawyer alone, without the heirs.

How is a will changed or revoked?

The testator may revoke his will at any time, by express revocation in one of the forms for making a will or by destroying the will (section 36(a)). A new will revokes the earlier one to the extent that its provisions contradict it, even without express revocation (section 36(b)). An undertaking to make a will, to change it or to revoke it, or not to do so, is not binding (section 27).

It is worth reviewing the will after a significant change: marriage, divorce, a birth, the death of an heir, the purchase or sale of an apartment.

How is a will made at the office? Four stages

1. Personal meeting. Clarifying the family, the property and the testator's wishes, alone.
2. Draft. Drafting the will, including provisions for the case where an heir dies before the testator.
3. Signature. Before two witnesses who are not beneficiaries, or before the notary in a notarial will.
4. Safekeeping and deposit. A person who made a will may deposit it with the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs (section 21).

Can a will be drawn up in English?

Yes. For a person who does not read Hebrew the will can be drawn up in English, or drawn up in Hebrew with a translation attached. In a will before an authority, where the will is written in a language the testator does not understand, it is read to him in translation into a language he understands, and the translator confirms this on the will (section 22(c)).

Which documents complement the will?

A will deals with what happens after death. Other documents are meant for the situation where a person is alive but can no longer make decisions: a lasting power of attorney, and a document of expression of wishes, in which a person states who should be appointed his guardian if one is needed. Both are made under the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law.

What to bring to the meeting

• An identity card.
• Details of the family members and the intended heirs.
• A list of the main assets: apartments, accounts, rights.
• A previous will or a prenuptial agreement, if any.

Timetable and cost

Timetable: an ordinary will is usually made in one or two meetings.

Cost: the fee for drafting the will is set in advance according to its complexity. In a notarial will the notary's fee for the certificate is added, which is set in regulations and is the same with every notary. To the notary fee calculator.

Will preparation questionnaire

The questionnaire gathers the details the lawyer needs in order to draft the will: the type of will, the family, the property, who inherits what and special provisions. Each question comes with an explanation, and the questions are adapted to the type of will you choose.

Important: the details you fill in go to the lawyer, who drafts the will according to them. The website does not produce a will, and you will not receive a finished will: the details are sent by email to the office only. At the end of the questionnaire, fill in contact details so that the lawyer can get back to you.

Want to make a will?

You may arrange a meeting to make a new will, to update an existing will or to review a will made in the past. After a death, see Inheritance and estates.