According to the Inheritance Law in Israel, after a person's death, all of his assets, known as "estate", pass to his heirs (Photo: ShutterStock)
What are the causes of conflicts between heirs?
Is there a way to avoid inheritance battles and do lawyers dealing in the field have the ability to prevent this or minimize damages?
Strong emotions, combined with property and money, are an excellent recipe for conflicts and particularly difficult legal battles.
This can be seen in divorce proceedings and also in inheritance battles.
On both sides, history and its sediments meet the place where it is easiest to hurt - the pocket, the future property of the relative who has become an opponent.
Is it possible to divide the inheritance even without a world war?
it is possible
You need, above all, good will and a willingness to compromise.
According to the law of inheritance in Israel, after a person's death, all of his assets, known as "estate", pass to his heirs.
Who are the heirs?
Here it depends on whether that person made a will or not.
If there is a legal will and an order is issued for its implementation, the heirs will be entitled to receive their share of the estate.
If there is no will, the ownership of the estate passes to the heirs according to law, as determined according to the rules of the law.
In order for the heirs to be able to receive their share of the estate, they must apply to the registrar for inheritance matters - if there is no will, a request for an inheritance order, and when there is a will, a request for a will maintenance order.
The Law of Inheritance allows the heirs to enter into an agreement for the division of the estate and even to deviate from the division instructions stipulated in the will or the laws of inheritance.
"This agreement," says attorney Roi Levy Avshalom, from the office of attorney Rafael Levy Avshalom, which specializes in wills and inheritance, "can allow the heirs to divide the estate in the most suitable way for them, even if it does not follow the legal inheritance provisions."
According to him, "sometimes there are assets that cannot be realized or distributed among the heirs in a certain way, sometimes this is due to tax considerations, and this is where the agreement comes in that allows this to be done in a logical way and without infringing the rights of anyone involved."
We often hear about conflicts between heirs, especially when it comes to an estate rich in assets.
Will a will prevent the fights?
"Drafting a will is important, it may resolve some of the disputes, but not always. The courts are loaded with cases of heirs who demand to cancel or oppose the will due to many reasons such as unequal distribution between the heirs, claims of 'taking over the will', 'unfair influence on the will' ', interpretation of a will, allowed to children from previous marriages and more."
What can be done to avoid heir conflicts?
"It is not always possible to prevent these conflicts, but there are certainly things that can be done to reduce the disputes and to bridge the gaps. It is important to seek legal advice as early as possible, even before drawing up the will and of course after the death of the deceased. Legal advice will help in understanding the extent of the deceased's estate , the number of heirs and the execution of the will or inheritance".
Attorney Levi Avshalom explains: "As part of the legal advice at our office, we help the heirs reach an agreement on the division of the estate, sometimes in creative ways.
We offer our clients creative solutions that will allow them to put aside their disputes on the one hand, to reach mutually agreed upon understandings on the other hand, and in the end also help fulfill the wishes of the deceased, dear one." The goal: an agreement for the division of the estate in the office of Adv. Levi Avshalom representing many heirs
who
are In major disputes with their family members and the main goal is to reach a solution by way of an agreement on the division of the estate.
This agreement includes only the heirs.
Additional parties involved, who are not heirs according to the law, cannot form part of the agreement.
When all the heirs agree on the various issues in the agreement and after signing it, it is necessary to give effect to the agreement.
The agreement can also be confirmed in the court, but it should be known that its approval in a legal court makes its status a final judgment and therefore it will be difficult to cancel it later if necessary or desired
. "Sometimes," explains attorney Levi Avshalom, "the agreement stems from real estate taxation considerations, when it comes to real estate, so that the heirs will not be joint owners of the property.
As a general rule, inherited property is exempt from tax, but real estate transactions are subject to various taxes.
Transactions made within the framework of the estate division agreement are completely exempt from tax and therefore the agreement may help reduce the payment of taxes."
Example case
The Levi Avshalom office recently handled the case of a pair of deceased parents who left their five children money, a residence and a store.
"After examining the tax aspects and after internal negotiations and a mediation process conducted by the firm," says attorney Levi Avshalom, "the parties reached an optimal division, taking into account the personal tax burden for each of the heirs, and reached a division of property that not only reduced the tax, But it also increased the amount to be distributed to each of the heirs."
Adv. Levi Avshalom concludes: "Inheritance disputes have been and will be, this is human nature.
But it is possible and desirable to do it differently, through dialogue, mediation and mutual understanding.
Everything depends on the goodwill of the parties.
It seems to me that in most cases the deceased, who had many estates, was also interested in this."
The Rafael Levi Avshalom law firm deals, among other things, with wills, inheritances and financial agreements.
The article is courtesy of Zap Legal.
The information presented in the article does not constitute legal advice or a substitute for it and does not constitute a recommendation for taking procedures or avoiding procedures.
Anyone relying on the information in the article does so at their own risk
In collaboration with legal zap
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family law
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inheritance