Quick Answer: A will made in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, or any other country can be used to claim an Israeli inheritance — but it does not take effect automatically in Israel. The will must be submitted to the Rasham HaYerushot (Registrar of Inheritance Affairs) for a probate order (tzav kiyum tzava'a). Under Sections 22 to 25 of the Succession Law 5725-1965, a foreign will is formally valid in Israel if it meets the requirements of any one of three legal systems: the law of the country where it was signed, the law of the testator's country of domicile at death, or the testator's personal (nationality) law. A foreign law opinion, an apostilled copy of the will, and a certified Hebrew translation are mandatory for the application.

When a member of the diaspora passes away holding an Israeli bank account, apartment, or share in a family business, their family abroad is left managing two separate legal systems at once. The will — typically signed in New York, London, Melbourne, or Toronto — was prepared by a local attorney with no knowledge of Israeli inheritance law. The Israeli property must still be transferred. Israeli banks will not release funds, the Land Registry will not transfer title, and securities accounts will not be retitled until the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs issues either a succession order or a probate order confirming the will's validity.

Israel does not automatically defer to foreign probate courts. A probate order issued by a California Superior Court, a UK Probate Registry grant, or a French succession certificate does not transfer Israeli assets on its own. Each requires a parallel Israeli proceeding at the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs.

The governing statute is the Succession Law 5725-1965. Sections 22 through 25 set out Israel's private international law rules for foreign wills — specifically which country's law governs how the will was made, and which governs how it is interpreted and applied.

Israel uses a flexible validation approach to formal validity. A foreign will's form — the number of witnesses, the signatures, whether it was handwritten or typed, notarized or not — is tested against whichever applicable legal system is most favorable to upholding the will. If the will was valid where it was signed, Israel treats it as formally valid, even if it would not have met Israeli formal requirements under Section 18 of the Succession Law.

Substantive issues — the testator's capacity, the interpretation of contested clauses, and whether specific gifts are permissible — are governed by the testator's personal law, which under Israeli private international law is typically the law of their nationality at death.

This approach is more permissive than many other jurisdictions. An American holographic (entirely handwritten and signed) will, for example, which is valid in many US states but which would not satisfy Israeli formal requirements for a handwritten will under Section 19 of the Succession Law, is still formally valid in Israel because it satisfies the law of its place of execution.

In Practice: Israel is not a party to the Hague Convention of 1973 on the International Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons, and Israeli courts do not give direct recognition to foreign grant letters or probate certificates. The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs at the Ministry of Justice (reachable through the online portal at gov.il/en/departments/bureaus/inheritance-registrar) is the only route for obtaining a legally effective order over Israeli assets. Filing fees for a probate application are currently NIS 990, paid by bank transfer or at the counter.

2. When Is a Foreign Will Valid in Israel? The Four Requirements

The Registrar applies four tests before issuing a probate order for a foreign will. Each must be satisfied before the application can succeed.

1. Formal validity under at least one relevant legal system

Under Section 22 of the Succession Law, a foreign will is formally valid if it meets the requirements of any one of these three systems:

  • The law of the country where the will was executed (most common basis for US, UK, and Australian wills)
  • The law of the testator's country of domicile at death (relevant when the testator moved countries after signing the will)
  • The testator's personal law — the law of their nationality at death (Israeli citizens who signed wills abroad, or immigrants who retained their original nationality)

2. The testator had legal capacity

Section 26 of the Succession Law requires that the testator was at least 18 years old at the time of signing, or was or had been married, and was of sound mind. Capacity is judged under the testator's personal law. Medical records or a doctor's certificate may be requested if capacity is disputed.

3. The will does not violate Israeli public policy

Under Section 23, the Registrar can refuse to give effect to a foreign will whose terms violate fundamental principles of Israeli law or public policy. Wills that discriminate on the basis of religion or nationality in ways that breach Israeli constitutional values, or that purport to disinherit a spouse's statutory matrimonial rights, may be challenged on this ground.

4. The will was not the product of fraud, duress, or undue influence

If an interested party files an objection claiming the will was signed under improper pressure, the Registrar refers the matter to the Family Court for a contested hearing. The objecting party carries the burden of proving the impropriety.

In Practice: The single most common reason probate applications for foreign wills are delayed is a deficient foreign law opinion. The opinion must come from an attorney qualified and licensed in the country whose law governs the will's formal validity — not an Israeli attorney's summary of foreign law, and not a general internet-sourced description of the law. The Registrar's instructions specify that the opinion must confirm: (a) the will meets all formal requirements under that country's law; (b) the will was validly executed; and (c) the testator appeared to have capacity. An opinion that covers only point (a) will be returned for supplementation, adding 4 to 8 weeks to the timeline.

3. The Probate Process at the Israeli Registrar of Inheritance Affairs

The Israeli probate process for a foreign will follows eight sequential steps. Most of the work happens before any documents are submitted — gathering and authenticating the paperwork takes longer than the Registrar's own processing.

Step 1: Gather and authenticate the will

Locate the original will or an officially certified copy. If the original is held in a foreign probate registry or safe deposit box, request an official court-certified copy. The Registrar accepts certified copies from foreign courts; it does not require the physical original.

Step 2: Apostille the will and the death certificate

Any foreign public document submitted to Israeli authorities must carry an apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention, to which Israel has been a party since 1978. In practice:

  • United States: apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State in the state where the document originates; federal documents are apostilled by the US Department of State in Washington
  • United Kingdom: apostilles are issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation Office
  • Australia: apostilles are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
  • Canada: apostilles issued by Global Affairs Canada (available since Canada joined the Convention in January 2024)

Allow 2 to 6 weeks for apostille processing, depending on the country and the current backlog. Rush services are available in most jurisdictions for an additional fee.

Step 3: Obtain certified Hebrew translations

The will, the death certificate, and all supporting foreign documents must be translated into Hebrew by a certified translator. In Israel, certified translators are authorized by the Israeli Court Administration. The Registrar will reject translations produced by unrecognized translators, even if they are otherwise accurate. Several Israeli translation firms offer this service for foreign documents and can work from scanned copies sent electronically.

Step 4: Obtain the foreign law legal opinion

Commission a written opinion from an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction whose law governs the will's validity. See Section 5 below for what the opinion must contain. This is frequently the document that takes the longest to obtain — budget 2 to 4 weeks for a properly drafted opinion from competent foreign counsel.

Step 5: File the probate petition

File the application at the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs for the district where the deceased had their last Israeli residence, or — for a testator who never lived in Israel — at the Jerusalem Registrar, which handles all non-resident estate applications. The application form (bakashah lekiyum tzava'a) is available on the Ministry of Justice's gov.il portal. Current filing fee: NIS 990.

Step 6: Publication in the Official Gazette (Reshumot)

After the Registrar accepts the application as complete, a notice is published in Reshumot (Israel's Official Gazette). From the publication date, any interested party — a potential heir who believes they are being overlooked, a creditor of the estate, or anyone who believes the will is invalid — has 30 days to file a formal objection (hitchatvut).

Step 7: Objection period and response

If no objection is filed, the Registrar proceeds to issue the probate order. If an objection is filed, the Registrar can either attempt to resolve it through an administrative hearing or refer the contested matter to the Family Court (beit mishpat leinyanei mishpacha). Contested probate proceedings in Family Court typically take 12 to 30 months, with costs proportional to the complexity of the dispute.

Step 8: Issuance of the probate order (tzav kiyum tzava'a)

The probate order is the document that allows Israeli banks, the Land Registry (Tabu), company registrars, pension funds, and other asset holders to transfer assets under the will. Certified copies of the probate order are issued for a fee of NIS 65 per copy. Order multiple certified copies — each institution holding estate assets will typically require its own original certified copy.

4. The Complete Document Checklist for a Foreign Will Application

Missing or deficient documents are the leading cause of delay. Before submitting the application, confirm that every item on this list is present and complete.

  • The will — original or court-certified copy
  • Apostille on the will — from the competent authority in the country of execution
  • Certified Hebrew translation of the will — by an Israeli-certified translator
  • Death certificate — original or certified copy, with apostille
  • Certified Hebrew translation of the death certificate
  • Foreign law legal opinion — confirming formal validity under the applicable foreign law (see Section 5)
  • Proof of the applicant's identity — passport or Israeli ID
  • Proof of the applicant's relationship to the deceased — birth certificate, marriage certificate, or other document establishing standing to apply, with apostille and Hebrew translation if the document is foreign
  • Power of attorney — if an Israeli attorney is filing on behalf of a foreign heir who is not present in Israel; must be apostilled
  • Application form and filing fee — NIS 990 payable to the Ministry of Justice
In Practice: Israeli banks are the most demanding asset-holders when it comes to releasing funds under a foreign probate order. Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, and Discount Bank all have dedicated inheritance desks (machlaket yerushot) that apply their own internal checklists on top of the Registrar's probate order. Expect each bank to require: a certified copy of the probate order, the deceased's Israeli bank statements for the last 12 months, proof of the applicant's tax residency status, and a FATCA/CRS declaration. Some branches request a specific declaration from the Israeli Custodian General confirming that no competing claim has been filed. Build this additional bank documentation phase — typically 4 to 8 weeks — into your timeline.

5. The Foreign Law Legal Opinion — What It Must Contain

The foreign law legal opinion is not a letter of comfort. The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs treats it as expert evidence of foreign law, and it must address the following points with precision:

  1. The attorney's full name, bar membership number or equivalent, jurisdiction of licensure, and years in practice. Israeli Registrars have returned opinions that did not establish the author's credentials as an expert in the law being opined on.
  2. A clear statement of which country's — and which state's or province's — law applies to the will's formal validity.
  3. The specific statutory provisions governing the number of witnesses, signature requirements, notarization or lack thereof, and any special requirements for holographic wills.
  4. A section-by-section or clause-by-clause confirmation that the will before the Registrar satisfies each of those requirements.
  5. Confirmation that nothing in the will or the circumstances of its execution raises a concern about the testator's legal capacity under the governing law.
  6. A clear, unhedged conclusion: the will is valid and enforceable under the law of [jurisdiction] as of the date of execution.

The opinion should be printed on the attorney's official letterhead, dated, and signed. It does not need to be apostilled, but it should be accompanied by a certified Hebrew translation.

For wills from common law jurisdictions — the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada — the formal requirements are generally well-understood and opinions are relatively straightforward to obtain. For wills from civil law jurisdictions — France, Germany, the Netherlands, or South America — where notarial wills are standard, the opinion must confirm that the non-notarial form actually used was valid in that jurisdiction, if that is the case.

In Practice: If the testator lived outside their country of nationality at death — for example, an Israeli-American who spent their final years in France — the Registrar may require opinions from two legal systems: the country of execution (France) and the testator's personal law (US or Israeli). The practical way to handle this is to instruct the Israeli attorney managing the application to correspond with both the French notarial office that holds the original will and a US attorney who can opine on the testator's US citizenship status and the US recognition of the French form. This dual-opinion scenario adds 3 to 6 weeks and costs approximately USD 1,500 to USD 3,500 in additional legal fees, depending on the complexity.

6. When a Foreign Will Cannot Be Enforced in Israel

Not every foreign will passes the Registrar's review. Here are the scenarios that tend to cause problems.

Formal invalidity in all three relevant legal systems

A will signed without witnesses in a jurisdiction that requires two witnesses, and by a testator who had no meaningful connection to a jurisdiction that allows unwitnessed wills, will fail the formal validity test under Section 22 of the Succession Law. The estate would then be distributed under the intestate succession rules.

Capacity disputes

If medical evidence suggests the testator lacked capacity at the time of signing — or if multiple wills exist and the later one is challenged as having been signed while the testator had diminished capacity — the Registrar refers the matter to the Family Court. These proceedings can run for years and consume a significant portion of the estate in legal fees.

Public policy violations

Wills that purport to make charitable bequests conditional on the recipient converting religion, or that impose conditions on inheritance that violate Israeli anti-discrimination norms, may have the offending conditions struck by the Registrar while the rest of the will is upheld. Complete rejection on public policy grounds is rare but not impossible.

Fraud or undue influence

A family member who believes the deceased was pressured into signing a will that did not reflect their true intentions can file an objection during the 30-day publication period. The Family Court will then hear evidence — typically medical records, witness testimony, and communication records — to determine whether the will stands.

A later conflicting Israeli will

If the deceased subsequently signed a separate will in Israel — as sometimes happens when diaspora families buy Israeli property and receive advice to sign a local will for the Israeli assets — both wills are submitted. Section 27 of the Succession Law provides that a later will revokes an earlier one to the extent of any inconsistency. If the Israeli will was signed after the foreign will and covers the same assets, the Israeli will prevails for those assets.

7. What Happens to Israeli Assets the Foreign Will Does Not Cover

A will that says "all my property" or "my entire estate" typically covers Israeli assets, provided the phrase is not interpreted under the foreign law as limited to assets in that country. Most common law wills drafted for US, UK, or Australian clients use language broad enough to encompass worldwide assets.

Problems arise in four specific situations:

  • Assets acquired after the will was signed: An Israeli apartment bought after the will was drafted may or may not fall within the will's scope, depending on how the residuary clause is worded. Israeli courts interpret residuary clauses broadly, but ambiguity in the original drafting creates space for disputes.
  • Assets held jointly: Property held in joint tenancy with a surviving spouse under Israeli law passes by right of survivorship, not through the will at all. If the deceased and their spouse co-owned an Israeli apartment as joint tenants registered in the Tabu, the surviving spouse inherits the deceased's half automatically upon registration of the death certificate — the will is irrelevant to that transfer.
  • Beneficiary-designated assets: Israeli life insurance policies with named beneficiaries, pension fund death benefits, and provident fund accounts pass to the named beneficiary outside the estate entirely, regardless of what the will says. See our guide on life insurance beneficiary rights in Israel for the specific claims process.
  • Explicit geographic limitation in the will: Some foreign wills explicitly limit their scope to assets in one country. A will that says "I give all my property in the United States to..." does not cover Israeli assets. Those assets fall to the intestate succession rules under Section 10 of the Succession Law.

Where a foreign will is probated in Israel but does not cover all Israeli assets, the uncovered assets are distributed through a separate succession order (tzav yerusha) based on the intestate rules. Both a probate order and a succession order can be sought simultaneously from the Registrar, covering different portions of the estate.

In Practice: The most common gap in diaspora estate planning is a foreign will that fails to appoint an Israeli representative — an executor or estate administrator — with authority to deal with Israeli institutions. Israeli banks, the Land Registry, and the tax authority want to deal with a single point of contact who holds a valid Israeli power of attorney or who has been confirmed by the Registrar as an authorized estate administrator. If the foreign will appoints an executor, that executor's authority is not automatically recognized by Israeli institutions until confirmed by the Israeli probate order. The probate order itself serves as the source of the executor's Israeli authority — but the executor (or their Israeli attorney) must then present it in person or by apostilled power of attorney at each institution. Building this coordination into the estate plan before death — by appointing an Israeli attorney as a co-executor or by granting a power of attorney that survives death — avoids weeks of administrative friction.

8. Managing the Probate of a Foreign Will From Abroad

Most families applying to probate a foreign will in Israel are doing so from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, or Australia. Travel to Israel is rarely required, but the process does require careful coordination between the family, an Israeli attorney, and counsel in the foreign jurisdiction.

Appoint an Israeli attorney before gathering documents

An Israeli attorney familiar with the Registrar's current requirements saves time by flagging document problems before they cause rejections. The Registrar's informal requirements — the level of detail expected in a foreign law opinion, acceptable translation formats, how the application form should be completed when the deceased never held an Israeli identity number — are not all fully documented in public guidance. An Israeli attorney who handles these applications regularly knows the current practice.

Grant a notarized power of attorney

An Israeli attorney cannot file an application or correspond with the Registrar on behalf of a foreign heir without a formal power of attorney. The power of attorney executed abroad must be notarized by a licensed notary in your country, apostilled by the competent authority, and either translated into Hebrew or submitted with a certified Hebrew translation attached. The scope must cover: filing the probate application, appearing before the Registrar, receiving the probate order, and dealing with all Israeli institutions holding estate assets on behalf of the heir.

Gather documents in parallel, not sequentially

The apostille, the foreign law opinion, the Hebrew translation, and the other required documents can all be commissioned simultaneously. Treating them as sequential steps adds 6 to 10 weeks to the timeline unnecessarily. Once the Israeli attorney has a clear document list, commission all outstanding items at once and set a target submission date 8 to 10 weeks out.

Timeline expectations

From the family's perspective, a straightforward uncontested probate of a foreign will in Israel typically takes 5 to 9 months from when instruction is given to when assets are transferred. That breaks down approximately as follows:

  • Document gathering and apostille: 4 to 8 weeks
  • Foreign law opinion and Hebrew translation: 2 to 4 weeks (can overlap)
  • Filing and Registrar acceptance: 1 to 3 weeks
  • Publication and 30-day objection period: 5 weeks
  • Issuance of probate order after objection period: 2 to 6 weeks
  • Post-order asset transfers (banks, Tabu, pension funds): 4 to 12 weeks