# Domain Coverage Checklist (israeli-wills-inheritance)

Generated: 2026-06-18. Revised: 2026-08-01 (v2) via research on: kolzchut.org.il (צוואה בעדים, צוואה, הפקדת צוואה, צו ירושה, צו קיום צוואה), gov.il / inheritance.justice.gov.il (the Inheritance Registrar). Statute: Succession Law 1965 (חוק הירושה תשכ"ה-1965); תקנות הירושה (אגרות הרשם לעניני ירושה), התשנ"ח-1998; חוק מס עזבון (ביטול), התשמ"א-1981.

Scope: help an Israeli (1) draft a will in the statutory form (focus on the witnessed will), (2) deposit it with the Inheritance Registrar, and (3) obtain a succession order or a probate order. Drafting binding enduring power of attorney, guardianship, and contested-estate litigation are out of scope.

## Must cover (core)
- [ ] The four will types under the Succession Law: בכתב יד (handwritten), בעדים (witnesses), בפני רשות (before an authority), בעל פה (oral / שכיב מרע). source: kolzchut צוואה. why core: the user must know which form fits.
- [ ] Witnessed will (צוואה בעדים) requirements, the skill's primary deliverable: not legally required to use a lawyer (but a lawyer is recommended); the testator writes/types the wishes, dates it, declares before two witnesses that it is their will, and signs by hand in front of them; the two witnesses confirm in writing on the will. source: kolzchut צוואה בעדים. why core: this is what the skill drafts.
- [ ] Witness disqualification: a witness, and the witness's spouse, cannot be a beneficiary of the will (a bequest to such a person is void). source: kolzchut צוואה בעדים. why core: the single most common way a self-made will is partially invalidated.
- [ ] Will deposit with the Inheritance Registrar (הרשם לענייני ירושה): optional, not required for validity, safeguards the document. source: kolzchut הפקדת צוואה. why core: users ask how to protect the will.
- [ ] Succession order (צו ירושה): filed when the deceased left NO will; heirs receive their share by law (spouse, children, parents per the Succession Law order). source: kolzchut צו ירושה. why core: the no-will path.
- [ ] Probate / will-execution order (צו קיום צוואה): filed when the deceased DID leave a will, to give it binding effect and distribute per its provisions. source: kolzchut צו קיום צוואה. why core: the with-will path.
- [ ] Where and how to apply: online to the Inheritance Registrar (inheritance.justice.gov.il), with the current fees. source: kolzchut צו ירושה, תקנות הירושה (אגרות). why core: the actionable next step.
- [ ] The FULL Registrar fee schedule, not just the common case: all nine rows of the תוספת, the 85% online-filing rule that produces the quoted online figure, the 1 January CPI indexation, the will-deposit fee and its five-year exemption, and the bereaved-family exemptions in regulation 4. source: תקנות הירושה (אגרות הרשם לעניני ירושה). why core: a user depositing a will is usually exempt, and quoting one number that reindexes annually goes stale.
- [ ] Section 25 cure for a defective will: a missing date or signature does not void a will; the Registrar or the court may admit it if the מרכיב היסוד survives. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 25. why core: the skill must never tell a bereaved user a valid will is dead.
- [ ] Section 147: insurance, pension and provident-fund money is outside the estate and passes by the מוטבים designation, which the will does not override. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 147. why core: for most Israelis this is the largest asset, and a will drafted without this warning misleads.
- [ ] Section 55: an unmarried partner (ידוע/ה בציבור) is treated as if left by will what they would have inherited as a spouse. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 55. why core: very large affected population, and the opposite answer is harmful.
- [ ] No estate or inheritance tax in Israel (repealed for deaths after 31 March 1981), with the מס שבח caveat on selling an inherited asset. source: חוק מס עזבון (ביטול), התשמ"א-1981. why core: the single most common user fear on this topic.
- [ ] Section 39: a will confers nothing until a probate order is granted. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 39. why core: sets the expectation that the paper alone moves no bank.

## Should cover (advanced / edge cases)
- [ ] Revoking or changing a will: a later valid will overrides an earlier one; how to update. source: Succession Law. why: common follow-up.
- [ ] Handwritten will (צוואה בכתב יד) requirements: written entirely in the testator's own hand, dated, and signed; no witnesses needed. source: kolzchut. why: the simplest no-witness option.
- [ ] Mutual / reciprocal wills for spouses (צוואה הדדית) and their special revocation rules. source: Succession Law. why: very common for couples.
- [ ] Order of legal heirs when there is no will (spouse share + children / parents / siblings per the parentela system), INCLUDING the Section 11(a)(2) apartment proviso and the Section 11(c) / 104(a)(4) precedence of marital-property settlement over heirs' shares. source: Succession Law. why: needed to explain a צו ירושה outcome, and the proviso often decides who owns the home.
- [ ] Objection / contest (התנגדות לצו) and the other Section 67א transfer grounds (State a party, Attorney General initiates or joins, Public Trustee represents a party, Registrar transfers) that move the file to the Family Court. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 67א. why: sets expectations, and the AG / Public Trustee grounds catch estates with minor heirs.
- [ ] Religious-court forum (Section 155): a rabbinical, sharia or druze court may issue either order where all parties consent in writing. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 155. why: a third door the skill otherwise hides.
- [ ] Disclaimer mechanics (Section 6): written notice to the Registrar, only before distribution, retroactive, only in favour of the deceased's spouse / child / sibling, conditional disclaimer void, minors need court approval, Section 7(c) forfeiture, Section 6א war-related widening. source: חוק הירושה. why: the skill actively recommends disclaiming.
- [ ] Section 8 / Section 27: agreements about a future inheritance and waivers of it are void, and a promise to make or keep a will is unenforceable. source: חוק הירושה. why: a recurring family-agreement question.
- [ ] Section 23(b): the oral will requires a זכרון דברים signed by both witnesses and deposited with the Registrar, and lapses one month after the danger passes. source: חוק הירושה. why: the form is otherwise described without its operative duty.
- [ ] Section 22: a will before an authority may be stated aloud OR handed in writing personally to the authority, is read back and certified on its face, and a notary counts as a judge. source: חוק הירושה. why: the row is otherwise too thin to act on.

## Out of scope (explicit, with rationale)
- Enduring power of attorney (ייפוי כוח מתמשך): requires a certified, specially-trained attorney to draft and file with the Registrar. related skill: israeli-elder-care-navigator covers it.
- Guardianship (אפוטרופסות): a different court process, not part of wills/inheritance drafting.
- Contested-estate litigation between heirs: requires a licensed inheritance lawyer (עורך דין). recommend one.
- Estate / inheritance tax in OTHER countries (US estate tax, etc.): foreign-law, out of scope. NOTE: the ISRAELI position (no estate tax, plus the מס שבח caveat on selling an inherited asset) is now IN scope and is a Must-cover row above; only foreign tax regimes are excluded.
- Complex estates (business interests, trusts, minors' guardianship clauses): recommend a lawyer; the witnessed-will draft is for straightforward bequests.
- Israeli tax computation on the SALE of an inherited asset (מס שבח rates, heir reliefs): name the exposure and route to a tax professional, do not compute it here.

## Added 2026-10-01 (v3)
- [ ] Section 5 unfit heir (caused the death, attempted and convicted, concealed / destroyed / forged the last will), with the court's power to limit it. source: חוק הירושה סעיף 5. why: the first question when a will surfaces in one heir's possession.
- [ ] Estate debts after the order: Section 126 (liability out of estate assets before division), 127(a) (after inviting creditors, only known debts and up to what the heir received), 128(a) (without inviting creditors, up to the value of the WHOLE estate, except for a debt the heir proves they did not know of, which is capped at what they received; 128(b) burden on the heir). source: חוק הירושה. why: a family that quietly splits the money is exposed well beyond its share. Detailed administration routes to israeli-estate-settlement-navigator.
- [ ] The family home after the order: FIRST, only the deceased's share is in the estate (a registered co-owner spouse keeps their own share; a property-relations claim is a money debt of the estate under 104(a)(4), not co-ownership); Section 113 lets an heir take an indivisible asset at no less than market value; Sections 112-117 yield to a will's directions (111(c)) and do not apply to a division by agreement (110(d)); any co-owner may demand dissolution of co-ownership at any time (חוק המקרקעין סעיף 37(א)), an indivisible flat is sold (סעיף 40(א)); the survivor's statutory protection is the Section 108(a) transitional stay (3 months, 6 for an heir) and the Section 115(a) tenancy of the heirs at an agreed or court-fixed rent, which the court may limit under 115(b). There is NO free life interest for a widow or widower unless the will grants one. why: the most consequential post-death question for a second-marriage family.
- [ ] Minor heirs: Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law Section 20 (advance approval for a minor's flat, a registration-dependent act, or any legal act between the minor and the parents or their relatives, 20(a)(5)), routed since the 2024 amendment first to the Public Trustee under Section 74א; Succession Law Section 6(c) court approval for a minor's disclaimer. why: parents otherwise assume they can simply divide.
- [ ] Tabu registration of heirs is a separate request after the order; route details to israeli-estate-settlement-navigator.

## Out of scope (re-litigated 2026-10-01)
- Enduring power of attorney: still out, a user asking is routed to israeli-elder-care-navigator by name, which answers them.
- Contested-estate litigation and appointing an estate administrator: still out; the skill states the four post-order traps and routes to a lawyer and to israeli-estate-settlement-navigator.
- Foreign estate tax: still out, no capturable Israeli figure exists for it.

## Authoritative sources
- https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/צוואה_בעדים : witnessed-will requirements and witness disqualification.
- https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/צוואה : the four will types.
- https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/הפקדת_צוואה_אצל_רשם_הירושה_במשרד_המשפטים : will deposit (optional).
- https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/הגשת_בקשה_מקוונת_לקבלת_צו_ירושה : succession order, fees.
- https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/הגשת_בקשה_מקוונת_לקבלת_צו_קיום_צוואה : probate order.
- https://inheritance.justice.gov.il/ : the Inheritance Registrar online portal.
- https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/חוק_הירושה : full statute text (sections 5, 6, 8, 8א, 11, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 36, 39, 55, 67, 67א, 104, 108, 115, 126, 127, 128, 147, 155); https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/חוק_המקרקעין (sections 37, 40); https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/חוק_הכשרות_המשפטית_והאפוטרופסות (sections 20, 74א).
- https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/תקנות_הירושה_%28אגרות_הרשם_לעניני_ירושה%29 : the full fee schedule, the 85% online rule, the 1 January indexation, the exemptions.
- https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/חוק_מס_עזבון : confirms the estate tax repeal for deaths after 31 March 1981.