How to Make a Will in Israel and Get it Approved

This article addresses how to make a will in Israel and have it approved by the Israeli Registrar of Inheritance Affairs.

This Series of Posts

Our law firm specializes in a variety of fields, including Israeli inheritance law. This article is one in a series addressing different aspects of Israeli inheritance law, based on the Hebrew instructions on the Ministry of Justice website under the Registrar for Inheritance Affairs. To read more, see our collection of articles on inheritance issues.

How to Make a Will in Israel

Inheritance law on how to make a will in Israel specifies that a will may be made before an authority. The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs deals with these issues, and making a will means that the one issuing the will (the testator) needs to go to the registrar to have the will approved. In order to carry out this procedure, a time needs to be scheduled in advance. The individual seeking to have the will approved needs to call the offices of the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs in their district during the hours specified on the district page. We provide the phone numbers and links to the various districts’ pages in another article under the section “Contacting the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs via Phone, Fax, or Email.”

The testator must then go to the registrar in person at the scheduled time to issue and approve the will. The testator must bring their identity card and an original copy of the will. Approval about issuing the will is at the discretion of the registrar. In the event that the will is executed and approved, the testator is required to pay the relevant fee according to the regulations. We discuss various fees involved in our article entitled “Government Fees for Israeli Inheritance Issues.”