A foreign legal opinion for an inheritance<\/strong><\/h4>\nSection 136 of The Israeli Inheritance Law \u2013 1965<\/a> (hereafter: \u201cthe Inheritance Law\u201d) states that an Israeli court is authorized to rule on the inheritance of any person who was living in Israel at the time of their death or left property in Israel. Property can be real estate, moveable assets, pension funds, bank accounts, securities, etc.<\/p>\nSection 137 states that the law of the country where the testator lived at the time of death is the law that is applied to the inheritance, except for what is stated in sections 138 through 140 (which deal with the law on certain assets, fitness to make a will, and the form of a will).![\"Foreign](\"https:\/\/lawfirmbackup_200125.k1uagm.ap-southeast-2.wpstaqhosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/how-can-israelis-foreign-cit-300x198.png\")
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Accordingly, in cases when the deceased\u2019s place of residence was not Israel<\/a> but they held assets in Israel, the Family Court must obtain a foreign legal opinion regarding the law that applies to the deceased\u2019s assets.<\/p>\nA request to issue an inheritance order or will probate order, submitted by the deceased\u2019s inheritors to the Inheritance Registry, will be transferred to the Family Court according to Section 67A (7) of the Inheritance Law.<\/p>\n
The court will consider the petition, along with the foreign legal opinion.<\/p>\n
Thus it follows that if someone living in Panama passed away and left, for example, an apartment in Israel, inheritors who want to actualize the will must submit, in addition to a petition to probate the will, an expert legal opinion regarding foreign law in Panama.<\/p>\n
What is a foreign legal opinion?<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\nA foreign legal opinion is an opinion relating to the foreign law that applies to a given case, for which a petition was submitted to the Inheritance Registry or the Family Court.<\/p>\n
The foreign law is the law of the country where the deceased was residing at the time of death. The accepted interpretation of \u201cplace of residence\u201d is the deceased\u2019s center of life, to which they have the most ties.<\/p>\n
Section 135 of the Inheritance Law states that a person\u2019s \u201cresidence\u201d is the place in which their center of life is located. Regarding a minor, someone legally incompetent or someone for which a power of attorney has been appointed, the presumption is that their place of residence is that of their representative \u2013 according to its meaning in the Legal Fitness and Power of Attorney Law. This is as long as it has not been proven that his center of life is in fact somewhere else.<\/p>\n
In the case where the deceased was a foreign resident, an expert foreign legal opinion is required, so that the court can determine the foreign law concerning the question of how the deceased\u2019s estate should be divided. A lawyers\u2019 office which deals with preparing foreign legal opinions will assist with this issue.<\/p>\n
According to civil regulations, an expert opinion (for a matter not connected to medicine) is to be submitted to the court no later than the date on which the main witness declarations are to be submitted by the litigant submitting the legal opinion (unless the court determines otherwise).<\/p>\n
What is the purpose of submitting a foreign legal opinion?<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\nIn the appeal (Tel Aviv) 1655\/07 Ashkenazi Esther v. the Attorney General<\/a>, the Tel Aviv District Court addresses the issue, and rules that the purpose of submitting a foreign legal opinion is to prove the content of the foreign law via an expert. An opinion to prove the foreign law is submitted like any other piece of evidence, since the content of a foreign law is a question of fact and not a question of law.<\/p>\nThe court added that the purpose of submitting the opinion is restricted to proving the content of the foreign law. Submission of the opinion does not replace the court\u2019s discretion in applying the foreign law, but rather provides the court with tools to help it reach a decision.<\/p>\n
Who is an expert in the foreign law?<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe foreign law must be proven by the opinion of an expert in the foreign law.<\/p>\n
Section 137 states that the law of the country where the testator lived at the time of death is the law that is applied to the inheritance, except for what is stated in sections 138 through 140 (which deal with the law on certain assets, fitness to make a will, and the form of a will).<\/p>\n
Accordingly, in cases when the deceased\u2019s place of residence was not Israel<\/a> but they held assets in Israel, the Family Court must obtain a foreign legal opinion regarding the law that applies to the deceased\u2019s assets.<\/p>\n A request to issue an inheritance order or will probate order, submitted by the deceased\u2019s inheritors to the Inheritance Registry, will be transferred to the Family Court according to Section 67A (7) of the Inheritance Law.<\/p>\n The court will consider the petition, along with the foreign legal opinion.<\/p>\n Thus it follows that if someone living in Panama passed away and left, for example, an apartment in Israel, inheritors who want to actualize the will must submit, in addition to a petition to probate the will, an expert legal opinion regarding foreign law in Panama.<\/p>\n A foreign legal opinion is an opinion relating to the foreign law that applies to a given case, for which a petition was submitted to the Inheritance Registry or the Family Court.<\/p>\n The foreign law is the law of the country where the deceased was residing at the time of death. The accepted interpretation of \u201cplace of residence\u201d is the deceased\u2019s center of life, to which they have the most ties.<\/p>\n Section 135 of the Inheritance Law states that a person\u2019s \u201cresidence\u201d is the place in which their center of life is located. Regarding a minor, someone legally incompetent or someone for which a power of attorney has been appointed, the presumption is that their place of residence is that of their representative \u2013 according to its meaning in the Legal Fitness and Power of Attorney Law. This is as long as it has not been proven that his center of life is in fact somewhere else.<\/p>\n In the case where the deceased was a foreign resident, an expert foreign legal opinion is required, so that the court can determine the foreign law concerning the question of how the deceased\u2019s estate should be divided. A lawyers\u2019 office which deals with preparing foreign legal opinions will assist with this issue.<\/p>\n According to civil regulations, an expert opinion (for a matter not connected to medicine) is to be submitted to the court no later than the date on which the main witness declarations are to be submitted by the litigant submitting the legal opinion (unless the court determines otherwise).<\/p>\n In the appeal (Tel Aviv) 1655\/07 Ashkenazi Esther v. the Attorney General<\/a>, the Tel Aviv District Court addresses the issue, and rules that the purpose of submitting a foreign legal opinion is to prove the content of the foreign law via an expert. An opinion to prove the foreign law is submitted like any other piece of evidence, since the content of a foreign law is a question of fact and not a question of law.<\/p>\n The court added that the purpose of submitting the opinion is restricted to proving the content of the foreign law. Submission of the opinion does not replace the court\u2019s discretion in applying the foreign law, but rather provides the court with tools to help it reach a decision.<\/p>\n The foreign law must be proven by the opinion of an expert in the foreign law.<\/p>\nWhat is a foreign legal opinion?<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n
What is the purpose of submitting a foreign legal opinion?<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Who is an expert in the foreign law?<\/strong><\/h4>\n