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When a petition for probate or succession is submitted in Israel to the Inheritance Registrar regarding a person who was a foreign resident (living outside of Israel) at the time of death, it is necessary to attach a foreign legal opinion<\/a>. If the deceased was a foreign resident living in the USA, then an American legal opinion is required.<\/p>\n Our law firm helps obtain foreign legal opinions. The current article explains when a US expert legal opinion is required, who is considered a foreign law expert for this purpose, and what the opinion should include.<\/p>\n As stated above, if the deceased lived in the United States (or any other foreign country) and left behind property in Israel, a foreign legal opinion is required in order to inherit that property.<\/p>\n An American legal opinion is also required for enforcement of foreign judgments<\/a>, as well as class actions, civil lawsuits that include tort and contractual claims, and other matters relating to U.S. law.<\/p>\n Section 136 of the Succession Law, 5725-1965<\/a> provides that the courts in Israel are authorized to hear the inheritance of a person whose place of residence at the time of death was in Israel, or who left behind assets in Israel. Section 137 provides that the inheritance shall be subject to the law of the testator\u2019s place of residence at the time of death.<\/p>\n Sometimes a person leaves behind assets in Israel despite not having been an Israeli resident. For example: the deceased may have resided in New York and, after their death, it turns out that they left behind an apartment in Israel that is registered in their name. In such a case, for the heirs to receive the apartment, they must attach an American legal opinion to the petition for succession or probate.<\/p>\n It is probable that the assets left behind by a foreign resident will be located where that resident lived \u2013 in the example above, the USA. The heirs, in this case, will need to file a petition for succession or probate in the USA. However, a probate order in the United States is not automatically recognized in Israel and, to exercise their right to the property in Israel, the heirs will need to obtain a foreign legal opinion and attach it to their petition for probate in Israel.<\/p>\n If the deceased did not leave behind an apartment but, rather, a life insurance policy or a provident fund with specific beneficiaries, there is usually no need for a succession order or probate order<\/a>, nor for a foreign legal opinion.<\/p>\n A foreign legal opinion is an opinion of a law expert that follows the format of an affidavit and contains an explanation of the law that applies to the deceased’s inheritance in their main place of residence<\/a> at the time of their death. In the example above, the deceased\u2019s place of residence was New York, so the foreign legal opinion would state the view New York inheritance law would have of the matter.<\/p>\n Similarly, if the deceased left behind a will and was a resident of another state, such as Illinois – an opinion would need to be submitted examining whether the will is valid according to the laws of Illinois.<\/p>\n The foreign legal opinion must be submitted by someone who is proficient in the laws of the relevant state and has a license to practice law in that state.<\/p>\nAmerican Legal Opinion<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Foreign Legal Opinions – Inheritances and Wills<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What is a Foreign Legal Opinion?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
<\/p>\nWho Is Considered a Foreign Law Expert?<\/strong><\/h4>\n