Enduring Power of Attorney in Israel: A Complete Guide for Foreign Nationals and Diaspora Families

The call that no diaspora family wants to receive goes something like this: a parent in Israel has had a stroke, or a diagnosis has revealed cognitive decline, and suddenly the adult children living in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia need to manage an Israeli bank account, sell an Israeli apartment, or authorize medical treatment — and they have no legal authority to do any of it. Israeli banks freeze accounts when they suspect a customer has lost capacity. The Land Registry will not process a property transfer without documentation. Hospitals need next-of-kin authority for major treatment decisions.

This situation arises far more often than people expect, and it is entirely preventable. Amendment 18 to the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, introduced in 2016, created a modern legal framework for this exact problem in Chapter Two-1 of that law (Sections 32A onward). It allows any competent adult to designate one or more attorneys-in-fact to manage specific categories of their affairs if capacity is later lost, and to deposit that designation with the Administrator General. This guide explains how the law works, what creating an Israeli EPA involves, and what happens to families who wait too long.

1. What Is an Israeli Enduring Power of Attorney?

The term "power of attorney" in ordinary use covers a wide range of documents. Under Israeli law, the word takes on a very specific meaning depending on which statute governs it. Amendment 18 created a distinct legal instrument that works differently from anything that came before it.

The core characteristic of an Israeli EPA is that it is designed to survive the principal's loss of legal capacity. In fact, the document can be written to activate only at that point — so the attorney-in-fact has no authority to act while the principal is fully capable, but full authority once the principal can no longer manage their own affairs.

The EPA is a voluntary instrument. No one can be required to create one. But for anyone with Israeli assets, an Israeli bank account, or family members who may need to make decisions on their behalf, choosing not to create one is itself a consequential decision. The alternative — court-appointed guardianship under the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962 — is slower, more expensive, and removes much of the control that a well-drafted EPA preserves.

The law is administered by the Administrator General (HaApotropus HaKlali) within the Ministry of Justice. An EPA cannot take effect unless it has been deposited with the Administrator General. The deposit is not a public register: information is available to the principal, the attorney-in-fact and certain officials, and, once the EPA is in force, to the principal's relatives and the informed person, while third parties such as banks can obtain confirmation that a presented EPA was deposited and has taken effect under rules the Minister of Justice may set (Section 32R).

2. EPA vs. Regular Power of Attorney in Israel

Many foreign nationals arrive at this topic already holding a regular Israeli power of attorney (yefiuy koa ragil), or assume that a power of attorney drafted in their home country will cover Israeli assets. Both assumptions lead to problems worth understanding before they become emergencies.

A regular Israeli power of attorney, governed by the Agency Law 5725-1965, is an effective document while the principal has full legal capacity. The moment a court, doctor, or other authority determines that the principal has lost capacity — whether through dementia, stroke, or severe illness — the regular POA becomes void by operation of law. The attorney-in-fact loses all authority instantly, regardless of what the document says. Banks are trained to watch for this and will freeze accounts on reasonable suspicion of incapacity.

A foreign power of attorney has a further problem in Israel: even with a valid apostille and certified Hebrew translation, Israeli institutions often require a legal opinion confirming that the foreign POA is valid under the law of the country where it was executed. That adds weeks and expense. Israeli banks, in particular, have become considerably more cautious about foreign POAs since the Money Laundering Prohibition Law 5760-2000 expanded their know-your-customer obligations.

The Israeli EPA avoids both of these issues. It is created specifically under Israeli law, deposited with the Administrator General, and designed to remain in force after capacity is lost. Israeli banks, hospitals, and government offices all recognize it without the need for additional legal opinions.

3. What the Israeli EPA Can Cover

The law distinguishes between two broad categories of decision-making, property matters and personal matters (which include medical matters), and an EPA can cover one or both (Section 32B).

Financial and property matters include everything you would associate with managing someone's economic affairs: operating bank accounts, paying bills, filing tax returns with the Israel Tax Authority (ITA, Rashu't HaMisim), managing investments, selling or leasing real estate (subject to the approval requirements described below), conducting business transactions, and collecting debts. An EPA covering financial matters gives the attorney-in-fact authority to appear before the Land Registry (Tabu), act before the National Insurance Institute (NII, Bituach Leumi), and engage with Israeli government authorities on the principal's behalf.

Personal and medical matters cover a different set of decisions: where the principal lives, what medical treatment they receive, admission to care facilities, and day-to-day personal care. An EPA covering personal matters allows the attorney-in-fact to consent to or refuse medical procedures, engage with hospitals and clinics, and make placement decisions when the principal can no longer live independently.

The two categories can be given to the same person or to different people. A family might appoint a local Israeli attorney to handle financial matters — particularly useful when the family lives abroad — and a sibling or adult child who lives in Israel to handle personal and medical decisions. The law also allows the principal to name an alternate attorney-in-fact who steps in if the primary attorney-in-fact dies, loses capacity, or resigns.

Several things an EPA cannot do:

• An EPA cannot override protections that Israeli law gives specifically to the principal — for example, certain consumer rights, family maintenance obligations, or rights under employment law
• Gifts, donations and loans require explicit authorization naming the recipients, up to a cumulative NIS 100,000 (customary gifts aside), and transactions between the principal and the attorney-in-fact, their spouse or relatives generally need approval under Section 48
• Selling, mortgaging or otherwise transferring an apartment or other real estate, renouncing an inheritance share, giving guarantees or loans, and transactions above NIS 500,000 require prior approval from the Administrator General or the Family Court (Sections 32F(d) and 74A), even if the EPA explicitly authorizes them
• Certain highly personal acts can never be delegated: converting religion, voting, consenting to a child's adoption, making a will or naming beneficiaries under Section 147 of the Succession Law, and acts under the Dying Patient Law 5766-2005
• The attorney-in-fact must act in the principal's best interests and cannot profit from the position beyond reasonable compensation if the EPA allows it

4. Who Certifies an Israeli EPA and How

One of the defining features of the Israeli EPA is the mandatory certification requirement. A document that is merely signed in front of a notary public in the way a regular POA would be is not an EPA under the 2016 law. Section 32N of the law requires the EPA to be signed before a lawyer who has completed the training prescribed by regulations and has no personal interest in the document. A notary acting as such, a foreign lawyer or a consul cannot take that lawyer's place.

Two groups of professionals play a role in signing EPAs in Israel:

• Trained attorneys who have completed the mandatory EPA training prescribed by the regulations under the law. Only they can witness an EPA that covers property matters or personal matters generally. Not all Israeli attorneys have completed this training, so the principal should specifically confirm that the attorney has
• Physicians, social workers, psychologists and registered nurses, who may witness only a medical-only EPA (Section 32O). They cannot witness an EPA that covers property or other personal matters

The certifying professional's role goes beyond witnessing a signature. The lawyer must explain to the principal, in simple language and without the attorney-in-fact present, the legal meaning of the EPA, the alternatives (including guardianship), what can be included, which acts need explicit authorization or prior approval, the reporting options, and how it can be revoked. If in doubt about the principal's capacity, the lawyer refers them to an expert. The lawyer then certifies on the form that the principal understood the document and signed of their own free will. The attorney-in-fact's consent is also signed before a lawyer, and the completed form is what is deposited with the Administrator General.

This safeguard exists specifically to prevent abuse. The EPA is a powerful document, and Israeli law places the burden of protecting vulnerable adults on the certifying professional. If a certifying professional knowingly certifies an EPA for a principal who lacks capacity, or who was pressured into signing, they can face disciplinary action and civil liability.

5. Deposit with the Administrator General

The EPA cannot take effect until it is deposited with the Administrator General (HaApotropus HaKlali), an office within the Ministry of Justice (Section 32Q). The one exception is a medical-only EPA, which remains valid for one year without deposit. If several EPAs are deposited on the same matters, the last one prevails.

The deposit is made by delivering the original signed EPA form, which includes the lawyer's certification and the attorney-in-fact's consent, to the Administrator General. It can be delivered by the principal personally or by the lawyer before whom it was signed. The Administrator General does not conduct an independent assessment of the principal's capacity, which is the lawyer's role, and confirms the deposit in writing on the copy it receives.

The EPA takes effect when the principal can no longer understand the matter it covers. The principal may set how that is determined, but not by the attorney-in-fact's decision alone; if the document is silent, an expert opinion is required. The attorney-in-fact must first inform the principal and anyone the EPA names, then file a declaration with the Administrator General (attaching the expert opinion where one is required). The Administrator General issues a confirmation that the EPA has taken effect and notifies the principal and the informed person (Section 32S). From that point, the attorney-in-fact can present that confirmation to banks, government offices, and the Land Registry as proof of their authority. Entry into force does not by itself remove the principal's legal capacity.

The principal can revoke the EPA by written notice to the attorney-in-fact, and the revocation takes effect when the notice is delivered. The principal must also notify the Administrator General in writing, but failing to do so does not invalidate a revocation the attorney-in-fact has received (Section 32W). If the EPA states that it remains in force even if the principal tries to revoke it after losing capacity, only a court can then cancel it.

6. What Happens Without an Israeli EPA

Understanding what happens when someone loses capacity without an EPA is the most persuasive reason to create one. The absence of an EPA does not mean the family has no recourse — it means the family must pursue a slower, more expensive, and more intrusive path: court-appointed guardianship.

Under the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, the Family Court can appoint a guardian (apotropos) to manage a person's affairs when they lose capacity. The guardian can be a family member or a professional. The court supervises the guardianship and requires the guardian to submit annual reports to the Guardian General (Ha'Apotropos HaKlali), a government office within the Ministry of Justice that has oversight authority over all court-appointed guardianships in Israel.

The guardianship process has several characteristics that make it significantly harder than having an EPA:

• Time: From filing the petition to the court's first substantive hearing typically takes 60 to 90 days. A contested guardianship — where family members disagree on who should serve — can take a year or more to resolve
• Cost: Attorney fees for a guardianship petition generally run NIS 8,000 to NIS 25,000, depending on complexity and whether the matter is contested. Court fees are additional
• Ongoing reporting: A court-appointed guardian must file an annual financial report with the Guardian General. Failure to file can result in the guardian being removed. This reporting obligation continues for as long as the person lives under guardianship
• Less control: The guardian's authority is defined by the court order, not by the person who lost capacity. The court must take the person's wishes into account, and advance directives for the appointment of a guardian deposited with the Administrator General carry real weight (Section 35A), but without such planning the person's preferences are only one factor for the court
• Gap period: From the moment a bank or hospital flags incapacity to the moment a court order is in hand, there is typically a gap of weeks or months during which the family has no legal authority to act. Routine bills go unpaid, property transactions stall, and urgent financial decisions cannot be made

7. Diaspora Families and Foreign Nationals

The EPA is particularly important for three groups that regularly contact Israeli attorneys on this topic:

Adult children living abroad with elderly parents in Israel. This is the most common scenario. The parent has Israeli bank accounts, an Israeli apartment, and is aging without a formal plan. The children live in New York, London, or Toronto and cannot easily travel to Israel to manage affairs if the parent becomes incapacitated. An Israeli EPA naming one of the children (or a trusted Israeli attorney or friend) as attorney-in-fact resolves this cleanly. The parent signs while capable; the EPA is deposited with the Administrator General; and if the parent is hospitalized and loses capacity, the attorney-in-fact can bring the EPA into force by filing a declaration with the Administrator General, without any court process.

Foreign nationals with Israeli assets but who live abroad. Non-residents who own Israeli property, hold Israeli brokerage accounts, or operate Israeli businesses should consider an Israeli EPA specifically for those assets. If they lose capacity in their home country, a foreign guardianship or power of attorney will not automatically extend to Israeli assets — the Israeli Land Registry, Israeli banks, and the ITA all require authority under Israeli law. A narrow Israeli EPA covering only the Israeli assets is often the cleanest solution. Note that under Section 77(b) of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, the validity and scope of an EPA are governed by the law of the principal's domicile (centre of life) on the date it is made, so non-residents should coordinate the Israeli document with advice under their home country's law.

Olim who plan to return to their country of origin. New immigrants who are not certain they will remain in Israel permanently sometimes create an Israeli EPA to cover the period while they are here, with the intention of revoking it if and when they leave. This is a legitimate use of the instrument. The EPA continues in force until revoked by the principal or until the attorney-in-fact's authority ends under its terms.

For diaspora families, the EPA can be executed in Israel during a visit. The parent must have capacity at the time of signing. Many families build EPA execution into a trip to Israel precisely because they recognize that the window for doing this may close without much warning.

A foreign EPA — for example, a US durable power of attorney or a UK lasting power of attorney — is not automatically recognized in Israel, which is not a party to the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults. Institutions willing to consider one usually require an apostille, a certified Hebrew translation, and often a legal opinion confirming validity under the foreign law. Israeli banks and the Land Registry frequently push back on foreign EPAs, even well-executed ones. For significant Israeli assets, a purpose-specific Israeli EPA is usually worth the additional work.

8. Key Drafting Considerations

An Israeli EPA is only as useful as its terms. Several drafting decisions significantly affect how the document functions in practice:

Activation trigger. The default under the law is that the EPA takes effect when an expert opinion finds that the principal can no longer understand the matter and the attorney-in-fact files a declaration with the Administrator General. The principal may choose a different way of determining incapacity, but never the attorney-in-fact's decision alone. Only an EPA covering property matters may be drafted to take effect earlier, even immediately; until incapacity it then operates as an ordinary power of attorney under the Agency Law. Personal and medical powers take effect only on incapacity. The trigger must be specified clearly in the document.

Multiple attorneys-in-fact. The law allows the principal to name more than one attorney-in-fact and to specify whether they act jointly (requiring agreement) or separately (each can act alone). Joint authority reduces the risk of unilateral decisions but can paralyze action if the attorneys-in-fact disagree. Separate authority is faster but requires the principal to trust each attorney-in-fact independently. The choice depends on family dynamics and the nature of the assets involved.

Specific asset instructions. If the principal has an Israeli apartment they want kept in the family rather than sold, that preference should appear in the EPA's wishes section. The attorney-in-fact is legally bound to follow documented instructions. Without written instructions, the attorney-in-fact has broad discretion, which can lead to decisions the family disputes later.

Compensation. An attorney-in-fact who is a family member typically serves without compensation. A professional attorney-in-fact — often engaged by diaspora families who have no family member in Israel — charges a management fee. The attorney-in-fact is entitled to be paid from the principal's assets only if, and in the amount, the EPA itself provides (Section 32L), so the fee must be set out in the EPA.

Succession planning. An EPA addresses incapacity but not death. The two documents that together create a complete plan are the EPA (for the period of incapacity before death) and a valid Israeli will (for the period after death). Treating them as a package rather than alternatives is the standard approach in Israeli estate planning for foreign nationals and diaspora families.