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Adv. Reut Eliyahu, personally
The lawyer who reviews your family's details is the lawyer who files the application and answers the Registrar. One person, from the first call to the order.
Israel office: Sun-Thu 08:00-19:00 · Fri 08:00-13:00
Israeli Succession AttorneySuccession Order in Israel
·By Adv. Reut Eliyahu, Notary
Who inherits under Israeli succession law, and how heirs in Israel and abroad obtain the order
For heirs in Israel · the United States · the United Kingdom · Germany · France and across Europe
If someone close to you died without a will and left an apartment, a bank account or savings in Israel, you are in the right place. Eliyahu & Co. obtains succession orders in Israel for heirs here and abroad, including families whose details in Israel's records never caught up with their lives, and every file is handled personally by Adv. Reut Eliyahu.
2 weeks+Publication for objections (Section 67)
50 daysThe Registrar's target, publication included
½ + movablesA spouse's share alongside children (Section 11)
No taxIsrael has no inheritance tax
What is a succession order in Israel?
A succession order names the lawful heirs of a person who died without a valid will, under Section 39 of the Succession Law (5725-1965).
- Application: filed online with the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs
- Publication: at least two weeks for objections
- The order: granted by the Registrar when no objection is filed
- The assets: banks and the Land Registry act on the order
Every family is different. Schedule a free consultation →
Our Firm
A succession order looks like a form. It is decided by the records behind it.
Succession applications hide risks that are easy to miss: an heir nobody has been in touch with for years, a divorce abroad that was never reported in Israel, a name spelled one way on a passport and another in the Population Registry, or an apartment that turns out to be only half the deceased's. Any one of them can send the file back to the start, while the bank account and the apartment stay frozen.
Eliyahu & Co. has worked in Israeli inheritance law since 2007, across the whole range: from a single bank account to estates with property, pension funds and heirs in several countries. Succession and probate orders, contested estates and the transfer of inherited property are handled under one roof, so the order is prepared from the start with the next step in mind.
Adv. Reut Eliyahu, who founded the firm, takes on each succession file herself. She maps the family, checks the records and prepares the application in person. In a procedure where a single mismatched detail can cost months, having the lawyer who reads your documents be the lawyer who files them is what keeps the application moving.
📍 How do you know this is the right firm for you? Tell us who the heirs are and what the estate includes. You will get a clear picture of the route, the documents and the fee before anything is filed. The first consultation is free and without obligation.
Israeli Succession Lawyer
What You Get From Our Succession Order Practice
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The records checked first
Before filing, we compare what the family knows with what Israel's records say. Most delays start with a gap between the two, and most gaps can be closed in advance.
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Complex families are routine
Divorces abroad, second marriages, an heir who died before the parent, relatives on three continents. These are the files we handle every week, not the exception.
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The next step already planned
An order is only useful if the bank and the Land Registry accept it. We identify the assets first, so the order works for them the day it is granted.
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If someone objects
When an objection is filed, the file moves to the Family Court. We represent you there too, without changing lawyers halfway through.
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A flat fee, agreed in advance
You know the full fee before anything is filed. It is agreed in writing, it does not grow with the size of the estate, and it is not billed by the hour.
An Israeli estate, handled from wherever you live.
The procedure, the language and the distance are ours to deal with. You get an update at every stage, by Zoom, phone or WhatsApp, and a clear answer whenever you ask where things stand.
Israeli Succession Law
Israeli succession law: who inherits when there is no will
When a person dies in Israel without a valid will, Section 10 of the Succession Law names the heirs: the spouse, the children and their descendants, the parents and their descendants, and the grandparents and their descendants. A closer group inherits before a more distant one, and the spouse inherits alongside all of them, in the share set by Section 11.
| Who survives the deceased | The spouse receives | The rest of the estate |
|---|---|---|
| A spouse and children | The household movables, including the car, and half of the rest | The children share the other half equally |
| A spouse and parents, no children | The household movables, including the car, and half of the rest | The other half passes to the parents' line |
| A spouse and siblings or grandparents | The household movables, including the car, and two thirds of the rest | The remaining third passes to them |
| A spouse only | The whole estate | - |
| No spouse | - | The children equally; if there are none, the parents and their descendants; then the grandparents and their descendants |
| No heirs at all | - | The estate passes to the State |
Source: Succession Law 5725-1965, Sections 10 and 11.
Two further rules often change the result. Children inherit in equal shares, and where a child died before the parent, that child's own children take the share in their place. And where the spouse inherits alongside siblings or grandparents, was married to the deceased for at least three years and lived with them in an apartment that belongs to the estate, the spouse receives all of the rights in that apartment and two thirds of the rest.
The order is granted by the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs and, once granted, applies to everyone, not only to the heirs who applied for it (Section 71). If the deceased left a valid will, none of this table applies: the route is a probate order for the will instead.
Worth knowing: what a spouse already owns in their own right, such as their half of a jointly owned apartment, is not part of the estate at all. The table applies only to the deceased's own share, which is why mapping the assets correctly comes before the application.
Succession Lawyer in Israel
Succession lawyer in Israel: how the process works
An application for a succession order is filed with the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs. When the applicant is represented by a lawyer, the application is filed online. The Registrar publishes it, waits at least two weeks for objections, and grants the order when none is filed.
Mapping the heirs
We establish who the heirs are under Sections 10 and 11, and compare the family's account with Israel's records, before anything is filed.
Documents, sorted out for you
We tell you exactly which documents the file needs and nothing more. Much of what the Registrar requires we obtain and prepare ourselves.
Filing the application
We prepare the application and file it online with the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs, together with the fees.
Publication and follow-up
The application is published for at least two weeks (Section 67). We answer any question the Registrar raises. If an objection is filed, the file moves to the Family Court.
The order is granted
The succession order names the heirs and their shares, and becomes the document every Israeli institution will ask for.
| Question | Succession order (Tzav Yerusha) | Probate order (Tzav Kiyum Tzava'a) |
|---|---|---|
| When | There is no valid will | The deceased left a valid will |
| Who inherits | The heirs by law, in the shares of Sections 10-11 | Whoever the will names |
| Granted by | The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs | The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs |
| If someone objects | The file moves to the Family Court | The file moves to the Family Court |
Source: Succession Law 5725-1965, Sections 39 and 67.
What the file usually needs
A death certificate, Israeli or foreign; identification for every heir, an Israeli ID card or a passport; civil status documents that show the family relationships, such as marriage, birth or divorce records; and the application with its declarations, which we prepare for the applicant to sign.
Timing and fees in 2026
The Registrar aims to issue the order within 50 days of a complete application, including the publication period. Registrar fees for an online application are ₪573, including publication. Our own fee is a flat fee agreed in writing before we start.
Where files get stuck: rarely in the filing itself. Far more often it is a family detail that does not match Israel's records, or a name spelled differently from one country to the next. Checking these before filing is what saves months.
Succession Order Cases
Israeli succession attorney: cases from our practice
Families who lived abroad for years often find that Israel's records never caught up with their lives. Applications like these are routine for us, even though they are exactly the kind that tend to be returned or stall. Both of the orders below were granted without delay. Names and identifying details are left out to protect our clients.
Heirs abroad · Outdated records✓ Order granted smoothly
The children's application, and a marriage that had ended long ago
The children of a man who had lived abroad for decades came to us for a succession order. Their parents had divorced many years earlier, and their mother had long since remarried. Israel's records told a different story: their father appeared there as a married man, and after his death that entry could no longer be changed.
The result: we dealt with the discrepancy before the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs as part of the application itself. The file was never returned for completion, and the children received the order without a hitch.
A life in two countries✓ Order granted without delay
Proving that a mother had died unmarried
A mother spent many years abroad, where she married and later divorced, before returning to Israel. Her former husband moved on to a third country and a new marriage. The divorce was never registered in Israel, so when her children applied for a succession order, the application had to establish that she had died unmarried, on the strength of records held in another country.
The result: the file answered that question before the Registrar raised it, and the succession order was issued without delay.
Every case turns on its own facts. These examples do not predict the outcome of another case.
Inherited Property in Israel
How to inherit a property in Israel after the order
The succession order is what Israeli banks, pension funds and the Land Registry act on. With it, the heirs release the deceased's accounts and register the inheritance of real estate, so that the property is recorded in their names.
Keep it together
The heirs register the property in their names, each according to their share in the order, and keep it as joint owners, for example to rent it out.
One heir buys the others out
Dividing the estate between the heirs is not treated as a sale, and Israel has no inheritance tax. A buy-out between heirs is a separate agreement we can draft.
Sell the property
Selling an inherited property is a regular transaction, handled through our real estate practice. When heirs cannot agree, see dissolving co-ownership of an inherited home.
Not sure what the estate includes? That is where we start: identifying the assets registered in the deceased's name before the application is filed, so that the order can actually be used the day it is granted.
About the Firm
Adv. Reut Eliyahu, Attorney & Notary
Founder · LL.B + MBA · Israel Bar member since 2007 · Notary · Registered arbitrator
Eliyahu & Co. specialises in Israeli inheritance law at every scale, from a single bank account to estates with several properties and heirs on more than one continent. Since 2007 the firm has represented spouses, children, siblings and executors in succession and probate orders, in objections, and in the transfer of inherited property.
The work covers every legal side of an estate: the Succession Law 5725-1965, the procedure before the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs and the Family Court, and registration at the Land Registry once the order is granted. Adv. Eliyahu holds an LL.B and an MBA, is a licensed notary and registered arbitrator, and personally prepares every application, which matters most where the family's story and the records do not match.
📍 ★★★★★ on the firm's Google Business Profile · Most clients come by referral from former clients. The first consultation is free and without obligation.
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Transparency
Flat fee agreed upfront
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Direct access
To your lawyer
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Records first
Checked before filing
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Thoroughness
Every heir accounted for
⚖️ Israel Bar License No. 47439🎓 LL.B + MBA🏛️ Notary⚖️ Registered Arbitrator📅 19+ Years🌍 EN / HE / ES
Israel Succession Lawyer in Tel Aviv
Succession Lawyer in Herzliya, Tel Aviv and Across Israel
Meetings at our office in Herzliya Pituach, at your home, by Zoom or by phone. Choose an area:
Succession orders in Herzliya
A good share of the succession files we handle start a few streets from our office in Herzliya Pituach: a parent's flat in Herzliya or Ramat HaSharon, savings at a local bank branch, and a family split between people who live nearby and a brother or sister who settled abroad long ago. One meeting is usually enough to map the heirs and list what the application needs. If coming to the office is difficult, we meet at your home or on Zoom, and you leave with a written checklist either way.
Book a meeting at our Herzliya office →Succession orders in Tel Aviv
Many Tel Aviv estates revolve around a single apartment, and nothing can be done with it until a succession order exists. We apply for orders for families in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim, and stay on for the steps that follow: recording the inheritance at the Land Registry, an agreement under which one heir buys the others out, or a sale. When one heir still lives in the flat and the others do not, we help the family reach a clear arrangement early, before it turns into a dispute.
Discuss a Tel Aviv estate →Ra'anana, Kfar Saba and English-speaking families
Ra'anana and Kfar Saba have large English-speaking communities, and their estates rarely stay inside one country: a parent who made aliyah decades ago, children in New York or Manchester, birth and marriage records issued abroad. These are the families where a mismatch between foreign papers and the Israeli registry is most likely to surface, so we look for it before the application is filed. Everything is explained in plain English, and every step of the application is confirmed to you in writing.
Ask about a cross-border family →Succession orders anywhere in Israel
From Haifa and the Galilee to Jerusalem and Beer Sheva, succession applications are submitted online, so the deceased's home town hardly affects how fast the file moves. What decides the pace is how complete and accurate the application is on the day it is filed. Should anyone object, the case goes to the Family Court of the relevant district, and Adv. Eliyahu attends the hearings herself. Meetings take place at the office, at your home or on Zoom, whichever is easiest for the family.
Tell us where the estate is →Succession Order for Heirs Abroad
Israeli Succession Orders for Heirs Abroad
Heirs abroad have exactly the same rights as heirs in Israel, and the application is filed in Israel under Israeli law. Choose your country:
Heirs in the United States
Families in the United States often discover that the probate court at home cannot touch an apartment or a savings account in Israel. Without a will, the Israeli assets are released only against an Israeli succession order, and the application is made here, in Israel. We take care of it from the first document to the final order, and you receive every update in English and in writing. The firm's US number, +1 (310) 735-4210, is staffed on weekdays during Pacific business hours.
Call our US line →Heirs in the United Kingdom
In the UK, letters of administration settle the estate at home, but Israeli banks and the Land Registry will not act on them. When there is no will, the Israeli part of the estate needs an Israeli succession order, and the shares are fixed by Israeli law, not by the English intestacy rules. Where the estate holds assets in both countries, we coordinate with the family's solicitor, arrange calls at hours that suit the UK, and explain every document in plain English before anyone signs.
Message us on WhatsApp →Heirs in Germany, France and across Europe
A German Erbschein, a French acte de notoriété or a Dutch verklaring van erfrecht is valid at home, but Israeli institutions will ask for an Israeli order. We apply for it for heirs in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. European civil records are also where names and dates most often differ from the Israeli registry, so they are checked before filing. When the estate requires it, we work together with your local lawyer or notary, and you are updated in English throughout.
Send us the details →Heirs anywhere in the world
Our clients have also included heirs in South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and Moldova. Wherever the heirs live, the succession order is applied for in Israel, and living abroad takes nothing away from an heir's rights. When a family is scattered over several countries, we bring everyone into one application and keep each heir updated in the language that suits them: English, Hebrew or Spanish. Tell us where the heirs live and what the estate includes, and we will set out the route and the documents it needs.
Tell us where you are →Ready to apply for a succession order in Israel?
Tell us who the heirs are and what the estate includes. You will get a checklist, a realistic timeline and a flat-fee quote.
Succession Lawyer Reviews
What Our Clients Say
★★★★★
Google Business Profile
Most of our clients come by referral
From former clients, lawyers and colleagues abroad. Each review on the firm's Google Business Profile comes from a client who worked directly with Adv. Reut Eliyahu.
19+ yearsPractising Israeli inheritance law
EN · HE · ESLanguages of service
WorldwideHeirs in Israel and abroad
NotaryLicensed Israeli notary in the office
The stars in this section are the rating on the firm's Google Business Profile. The rating at the top of the page is the visitor rating for this page only. They are two different measures.
Succession Order Questions
Succession Order in Israel: Common Questions
Israeli succession law
Under Section 10 of the Succession Law, the heirs are the spouse, the children and their descendants, the parents and their descendants, and the grandparents and their descendants. A closer group takes before a more distant one, and the spouse inherits alongside them. If there are no heirs at all, the estate passes to the State.
The spouse inherits the household movables, including the car, and half of the rest of the estate, and the children share the other half equally (Section 11). What the spouse already owns in their own right, such as their half of a jointly owned apartment, is not part of the estate.
A succession order applies where there is no valid will, and the heirs and their shares are set by law. A probate order applies where there is a valid will, and gives it legal effect in Israel. Choosing the wrong route delays the matter, so the first question we check is whether a will exists.
No. Israel has had no inheritance tax since 1981, and dividing the estate between the heirs is not treated as a sale. Selling an inherited property later is a separate transaction with its own rules, which we review with you before any sale.
The process
The application is published for objections for at least two weeks, and the Registrar aims to issue the order within 50 days of a complete application, publication included. What usually adds time is missing documents or family details that do not match Israel's records, which is why we check them before filing.
No. When no objection is filed, the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs grants the order without a hearing. If an objection is filed, the Registrar transfers the file to the Family Court (Section 67), and we represent you there.
The heirs register the inheritance at the Land Registry, so that the property is recorded in their names. They can then keep it together, have one heir buy out the others, or sell it. Banks release the deceased's accounts on the same order.
Heirs abroad and cost
Yes. Heirs abroad have the same rights as heirs in Israel, and the application is filed in Israel under Israeli law. We handle the Israeli side of the process for you and keep you updated at every stage by Zoom, phone or WhatsApp.
No. It is common for heirs to live in several countries. What matters is that every heir is identified correctly and that the application gives the Registrar a complete and consistent picture of the family.
It is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended where the heirs live abroad, the family is complex or the estate includes property. A lawyer files the application online, checks that the family details will hold up before the Registrar, and represents you if an objection is filed.
Registrar fees for an online application are ₪573 in 2026, including publication. Our own fee is a flat fee for the work described, agreed in writing before we start, not a percentage of the estate and not an hourly rate. It depends mainly on the number of heirs and on how much of the family's paperwork needs to be put in order.
Israeli Inheritance Law Guides
More on Inheritance in Israel
Inheritance & Estate Lawyer →Wills, orders and estates in Israel, the full picture.
Probate in Israel →When there is a will: how it is probated.
Contesting an order →Objections and disputes between heirs.
Inherited real estate →Registering, buying out or selling the property.
Heirs who own a home together →Dissolving co-ownership of an inherited property.
Civil litigation in Israel →When an estate matter reaches the courts.
Contact an Israeli Succession Lawyer
Need a Succession Order in Israel? Talk to Us First
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🇮🇱 Israel Office+972-74-704-7104
🇺🇸 US Line · Pacific Time+1 (310) 735-4210
💬 WhatsApp+972-74-704-7104
Emailoffice@israel-law.co
Office hours
Sun-Thu 08:00-19:00 · Fri 08:00-13:00 (Israel Time)
No will, but an estate in Israel? Find out who inherits and what comes next.
Succession orders for heirs in Israel and abroad, from mapping the family to releasing the accounts and the apartment - one call is enough to see the route and the fee.
Sun-Thu 08:00-19:00 · Fri 08:00-13:00 · At our office, by Zoom, or at your home