Is a Foreign Will Valid in Israel?
One of the most common questions from foreign families dealing with Israeli assets is: "Our family member made a will in the United States (or the UK, France, Canada, Australia). Will it be recognised in Israel?" The answer, in most cases, is yes — but with important conditions and a mandatory local process.
The legal basis for recognising foreign wills in Israel is Section 72 of the Israeli Succession Law 1965. Under this provision, a will is formally valid in Israel if it complies with the formal requirements of any one of the following legal systems: the law of the place where the will was made; the law of the deceased's domicile at the time the will was made; the law of the deceased's domicile at the time of death; or the law of Israel itself. This is a deliberately generous rule — it gives effect to wills from a wide range of countries and legal traditions, provided the will was formally valid under at least one of these connecting legal systems.
In practice, this means that a will properly executed under the laws of New York, London, Paris, Berlin, or Sydney will almost invariably be formally valid under Section 72, because those legal systems have their own rigorous formal requirements for will execution. The Israeli Registrar of Inheritance is not looking to invalidate foreign wills on technical grounds — it is looking to confirm that the will was properly made under some recognised legal system and that it covers the Israeli assets.
What Section 72 does not address is the substance of the will — who it leaves the Israeli assets to, in what proportions, and on what conditions. The substantive validity of the will (for example, whether the testator had capacity, whether the will was made under undue influence) is assessed separately. And certain substantive protections under Israeli law — particularly the surviving spouse's rights — may override even a formally valid foreign will. We discuss these issues below.
Getting a Foreign Will Probated in Israel: The Step-by-Step Process
Even if a foreign will is perfectly valid, Israeli institutions will not act on it without a formal Israeli probate order — a tzav kiyum tzava'a (literally, "order of fulfillment of a will"). This order is issued by the Registrar of Inheritance after reviewing the will and confirming its formal validity. The Israeli court does not examine whether the will represents the testator's "true wishes" or second-guess the distribution — it confirms that the will meets the formal requirements and authorises its execution.
Step 1 — Obtain a certified copy of the will. The original will, or a certified copy issued by the court or attorney who holds the original, must be obtained. In the United States, this typically means obtaining a certified copy from the probate court that has already admitted the will to probate in that state. In the UK, a Grant of Probate from HMCTS serves this purpose. In other countries, the process varies but the principle is the same — you need an official, certified copy of the will, not simply a photocopy.
Step 2 — Apostille the will and supporting documents. Israel is a signatory to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (1961), which means that Israeli authorities accept documents authenticated by an apostille certificate rather than requiring full diplomatic legalisation. The apostille must be affixed to the certified copy of the will and to each supporting document (death certificate, etc.) by the competent authority in the country where the document was issued.
Step 3 — Commission a certified Hebrew translation. All documents submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Inheritance must be in Hebrew or accompanied by a certified Hebrew translation. This is not a requirement that can be waived or worked around — the Registrar will not process a petition in English or any other language. The translator must be certified or sworn; your Israeli attorney can recommend qualified translators who regularly work on probate documents.
Step 4 — File the probate petition with the Registrar of Inheritance. Your Israeli attorney files the petition (bakasha l'kiyum tzava'a) with the appropriate district's Registrar of Inheritance — jurisdiction is based on the deceased's last domicile in Israel or, for non-Israeli residents, the location of their Israeli assets. The petition sets out the facts of the case, attaches all supporting documents, and requests that the Registrar issue a probate order recognising the foreign will.
Step 5 — Public notice period. As with a succession order application, the Registrar publishes a notice in Reshumot (the official state gazette) for 14 days. This gives interested parties — family members who may object to the will, creditors, or others with a legal interest — an opportunity to raise objections. If no objection is filed, the Registrar proceeds to issue the probate order.
Step 6 — The probate order is issued. Once the notice period passes without objection and the Registrar is satisfied with the documentation, a tzav kiyum tzava'a is issued. This order confirms the will's validity in Israel and authorises the named executor (or, if no executor is named, the heirs) to deal with the Israeli estate. The process typically takes 3 to 5 months for uncontested foreign wills with complete documentation.
Documents Required for Israeli Probate of a Foreign Will
The document requirements are specific, and for foreign heirs, preparation is the most time-consuming part of the process. Missing or improperly authenticated documents are the leading cause of delays. The following documents are typically required:
The will itself: A certified copy of the original will, apostilled and with a certified Hebrew translation. If the foreign country has already admitted the will to probate, a certified copy of the probate court's order confirming the will is also useful and may be required.
Death certificate: The official death certificate from the country where the deceased died, apostilled and with a certified Hebrew translation. Israeli authorities require the apostilled original or certified copy — a photocopy alone is not accepted.
Identity documents of the executor named in the will: If the will names a specific person as executor, that person's identity must be established. For a foreign executor, a certified copy of their passport is typically sufficient.
Identity documents of the beneficiaries: The persons named in the will as beneficiaries must be identified. Copies of passports or national identity documents are required.
List of Israeli assets: A declaration of the deceased's known Israeli assets — real estate addresses with Land Registry reference numbers, bank account details, etc. — helps the Registrar understand the scope of the Israeli estate and confirms why Israeli probate is needed.
Power of attorney: If a foreign executor or heir is engaging an Israeli attorney to manage the process, a power of attorney must be executed — typically before a notary in the executor's home country and apostilled. This document gives the Israeli attorney authority to act on behalf of the executor in Israeli proceedings.
What If the Foreign Will Conflicts with Israeli Law?
Most foreign wills probated in Israel do not give rise to any substantive conflict with Israeli law. The will is recognised, the probate order is issued, and the estate is distributed according to the will's terms. However, there are several scenarios where conflicts can arise, and foreign heirs and executors should be aware of them.
The surviving spouse's rights: This is the most common area of conflict. Israeli law gives the surviving spouse strong protections that cannot be entirely overridden by a will — foreign or domestic. Under Section 11 and related provisions of the Succession Law 1965, the surviving spouse has a right to the family home (zkhut hadirah) and a guaranteed minimum share of the estate. If the foreign will attempts to leave everything to, say, children from a prior marriage and nothing to the surviving spouse, Israeli law will protect the spouse's minimum entitlements. The spouse may elect to "opt out" of the will and take their statutory share instead. See our detailed guide on rights of a surviving spouse for more on this point.
Forced heirship — or the absence of it: Many civil law countries (France, Germany, Spain, and others) have forced heirship rules that entitle children to a mandatory minimum share of the estate regardless of the will. Israeli law does not have forced heirship for adult children. This means that a will made in Israel — or a foreign will applied to Israeli assets — can validly disinherit adult children. Conversely, if the foreign will was made in a country with forced heirship rules, those rules do not apply to the Israeli assets — only Israeli law governs the Israeli estate.
Charitable bequests: Bequests to charities in the foreign will are generally valid in Israel, provided the charity is a recognised legal entity and the bequest is clearly expressed. Israeli law does not restrict charitable giving by will.
Trusts: This is an area of growing importance as more high-net-worth individuals create foreign trusts that hold Israeli assets. Israel recognises foreign trusts with Israeli beneficiaries under the Trust Law 1979 and subsequent regulations. A foreign will that pours assets into a trust can be valid in Israel, but the tax treatment of the trust and its Israeli beneficiaries requires careful specialist advice — the Israeli Tax Authority has increasingly active oversight of foreign trusts with Israeli connections.
Practical Tips for Foreign Heirs and Executors
Having handled many cross-border probate matters involving Israeli assets, several practical lessons consistently emerge for foreign heirs and executors navigating this process.
Don't assume the foreign will automatically covers Israeli assets. A will that says "I leave everything I own to my spouse" does cover Israeli assets — but the practicalities of using that will in Israel require a separate Israeli probate process. Many families only discover this when they try to sell the Israeli property and are told by the Land Registry that they need an Israeli court order. Engaging Israeli legal counsel promptly after the death avoids this discovery at the worst possible time.
Check whether the will specifically addresses Israeli assets. Some will-makers who own Israeli property are advised by their local attorney to include a specific clause in the will addressing the Israeli assets. This can make the Israeli probate process somewhat smoother. If the will was drafted without knowledge of the Israeli assets, the broader "residuary estate" clause will typically cover them — but confirm this with your Israeli attorney.
Consider whether a separate Israeli will would simplify things. For living individuals who own Israeli assets and want to plan ahead, having a separate Israeli will (or an Israeli addendum to a foreign will) can significantly simplify the probate process for their heirs. An Israeli will drafted to comply with Israeli formal requirements and addressing specifically the Israeli assets can be probated more quickly and easily than a foreign will requiring translation and apostille. This is a planning point worth raising with both your Israeli attorney and your home-country estate planner.
If the will names a foreign executor, a local Israeli presence is needed. A foreign executor — even one with an Israeli probate order — cannot physically attend to every step of the Israeli estate administration from abroad. An Israeli attorney acting under a power of attorney from the executor can handle the practical steps: filing with the Land Registry, dealing with the banks, corresponding with the Tax Authority. This is not optional for most foreign executors — it is practically essential.
Start the document collection process immediately. Apostilling documents, obtaining certified copies from foreign courts, and commissioning certified Hebrew translations takes time. In some countries, obtaining an apostille on a death certificate or probate court order can take weeks. Starting this process as soon as possible after the death — ideally in parallel with the foreign probate proceedings — minimises the total timeline for the Israeli estate.