Reasons to Prepare Enduring Power of Attorney in Advance

This article addresses the reasons to prepare enduring power of attorney in Israel. This is an important topic to consider in order to protect yourself and your assets in the face of unexpected medical conditions. Issues regarding enduring power of attorney (also called continuing power of attorney or continuous power of attorney in Israel) are under the authority of the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Legal reforms since 2017 have new rules and regulations that allow individuals to make more decisions on their future behalf, which has been highlighted in news articles as well.

Reasons to Prepare Enduring Power of Attorney

An enduring power of attorney, first and foremost, gives individuals more rights regarding who will manage their financial, legal and health decisions in the future. For many years, the court would appoint an apotropus (or legal guardian, which we have discussed in other articles) for an individual, but this was controversial, since sometimes, the legal guardian appointed was not a person an individual would have wanted.

Due to a recent amendment, an individual can now appoint a legal guardian ahead of time, although this still needs court approval. Additionally, the individual can appoint third parties to ensure that the chosen legal guardian is executing the individual’s wishes appropriately.

However, one can avoid going through the courts by preparing an enduring power of attorney.

An Israeli lawyer can help you prepare an enduring power of attorney and ensure that your wishes will be implemented. The main reasons we recommend an enduring power of attorney are:

For your peace of mind, that your wishes will be executed according to your preferences in the event you are no longer able to make your own decisions. And likewise, to avoid long, drawn out court dates and the possible appointment of someone who will not have your best interests in mind.
To choose an appointee who will be notified of this far in advance and with whom you can discuss your preferences at length.
This also helps avoid any conflict of interest or fighting between relatives over who might wish to do this in the future.
The process is easy to set up and update, so in the event you draw up a document but wish to make modifications later on, it is easy to do so.

While most people think it is important to draw up a will, we argue that it is just as important, if not more so, to draw up an enduring power of attorney. Both these documents are essential to ensuring that your legal affairs, health and estate are managed according to your specifications.

This Series of Articles

This article is one in a longer series addressing what an apotropus does, types of legal guardianship, how to apply for an enduring power of attorney, and more. We also have many articles on inheritance law, like appointing an estate administrator, succession orders, types of wills in Israel, living wills, and more.

Contact Us

If you wish to prepare enduring power of attorney documents or have any questions about legal guardianship in Israel or inheritance law, please contact us. Our law office specializes in family law and inheritance law, and Advocate Anat Levi would be happy to help you with all your legal needs.