Family Law
Question:
How is one appointed custodian of property or an entity?
Answer:
A request to appoint of a guardian/custodian is filed in cases where an adult (or parents of a minor – see below) lost legal competence or is not able to take care of himself. The application is common amongst family members seeking to be appointed as guardians of an elderly or sick loved one. The application is submitted to the Family Court by the applicant wishing to be appointed as guardian by means of a written request together with the opinion of a doctor (in the event that subject of the petitioner is ill or in a nurse’s care) or together with the opinion of a social worker/welfare officer in cases where a the subject of the application is helpless (a minor, childless / orphan etc.). The application must be submitted along with an affidavit and is subject to payment of a fee.
Question:
How do you file for divorce in the Rabbinical Court?
Answer:
A divorce petition must be submitted to the rabbinical court located in the district in which the parties last resided as a couple. It is acceptable to file for divorce and at the same time file for alimony and/or child and for custody. The Family Court will consider the claim and check to see whether the plaintiff can be granted a religious divorce under Jewish law. Sometimes, the spouse/partner does not want a divorce and in these cases reconciliation is requested by the attorney of the party interested.
In cases where the parties reach an agreement on matters involved in ending their relationship, it is customary to draft a divorce agreement and submit it for approval to the Rabbinical Court or the family court. Divorce cases last between six months to five years, depending on the complexity of the case and the issues disputed by the parties.
Question:
How is a marriage dissolved?
Answer:
The authority of the Rabbinical Court applies only to parties who are Jewish. In cases where one spouse is not Jewish, or both sides are lacking, an application to dissolve the marriage will be submitted to the Family Court. Since the personal law applicable to the parties is religious law, the first issue which will be examined is to which religious law are the parties subject, if at all? In cases where one of the parties is Jewish, and the other without religion who were married in a civil ceremony in Israel, the application will be heard before the Family Court according to the provisions of the law. An affidavit must be attaché to the petition to dissolve the marriage, whether consensual or non-consensual. The petition is subject to payment of a fee.
Question:
How do you change a minor’s last name?
Answer:
A petition to change the surname of a minor is filed in cases where the minor bears the surname of a parent and does not want to carry the name any longer. It should be emphasized that the Court gives great weight to the best interests of the child and his position on the matter. The name change petition is not submitted to the Interior Ministry, but rather to the Family Court by way of a written application with an attached affidavit and is subject to payment of a fee.
Question:
How do you get custody of a child?
Answer:
It is customary to file for custody of a child concurrent with an application for divorce. The custody petition, like a petition for child support and visitation rights, is determined according to the child’s best interests and will ultimately decide who will be the custodial parent who will have to be satisfied with visitation. Joint custody of a minor can occur in rare instances. Most custody claims in Israel result in the custody being awarded to the mother, albeit in special cases in which custody is awarded to the father. In cases where there is an urgent need to assign custody it is customary to apply for temporary custody concurrent with the permanent custody petition.
Question:
How do I file a petition for child support?
Answer:
A child-support petition filed on behalf of a minor is submitted to the court through his natural guardian, i.e. his parents. In most cases, a demand for child support is an integral part of the divorce proceeding. Child support lawsuits are typically filed in family court, but Rabbinical Court has concurrent jurisdiction to hear demands for child support. A demand for child support is filed by the custodial parent of the minor, meaning the parent who has been awarded custody of the child. Many couples try to settle the issue of child support in the divorce agreement or even as part of a prenuptial agreement, but in most cases this is usually rejected outright by the court. Needless to say, these proceedings should be handled by lawyers who specialize in family law.
Question:
How is child support collected?
Answer:
In many cases where the spouse owes child support, he is a serial debtor or has fled the country and child support is not collected by the Execution Authority, you can contact the National Insurance Institute with a petition to pay some of the court ordered child support. In many cases, the spouse against whom the demand for child support is filed plans to leave the country. In such cases it is extremely important to impose a denial of exit order against the respondent spouse. The petition for a denial of exit order is submitted to the Family Court, with an affidavit detailing the facts which demonstrate that the defendant will attempt to leave the country permanently, and the petition is subject to payment of a fee. Decisions on such petitions are granted immediately. Note that in some cases a respondent may have an order denying him exit from the country lifted, subject to the deposit a guarantee and/or providing sufficient collateral to ensure his return.
Question:
How is the dissolution of a partnership between spouses accomplished?
Answer:
Family Law in Israel allows dissolution partnership in property (i.e. joint ownership) between spouses: the “presumption of shared property” method or the “balancing resources” method.
The shared property presumption applies to all couples who were married or became common-law partners before the Law of Financial Relations Between Spouses – 1973 (“Financial Relations Law”) came into effect. The presumption of sharing is a creation of the Israeli courts. The presumption of sharing states that all assets including business, securities, intellectual property, real estate, etc., belong to both spouses equally. The case-law states that it is sufficient to prove the maintaining of a shared and common household in order to establish the presumption. It should be emphasized that the law divides property equally even if the husband is the sole breadwinner and the woman is a homemaker. Assets previously accumulated by a spouse prior to the date of commencement of cohabitation or marriage remain privately owned, but under special circumstances the presumption of shared property may apply to such property as well. Note that an action to dissolution of joint ownership under the presumption of shared property may be commenced at any time regardless of whether the couple is separated or divorced.
The “balancing resources” method operates in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Relations Law relating to couples whose marriage has ended and/or a religious divorce has been granted. With the resource balancing method, all assets accumulated during the relationship is owned by both spouses equally, except property which is expressly excluded by the provisions of the Financial Relations Law such gifts, inheritances, etc. We emphasize that if one spouse has invested effort or funds in common property, then he will be entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred by the improvement in a demand for dissolution of the partnership. It should also be noted that couples who have signed a prenuptial agreement tend to believe that you cannot deviate from the provisions of the agreement – but this is not so. Albeit a prenuptial agreement is evidence of the parties’ intentions regarding partnership in particular assets but the court will examine the totality of the circumstances with regard to that particular asset.