Quick Answer: Under Section 8 of the Inheritance Law 5725-1965, two people who can inherit from each other — most commonly spouses or long-term partners — can sign a binding inheritance agreement, called a hiskamet yerusha (הסכמת ירושה), that locks in how their estates will pass. Unlike a will, which any testator can revoke unilaterally at any time, a hiskamet yerusha is a bilateral contract: neither party can walk away from it without the other's written consent. For couples entering second marriages, blended families, or any situation where the estate plan needs to be mutually guaranteed, this instrument provides a level of certainty that a will alone cannot.

Most foreign nationals who own Israeli property know they need an Israeli will. Fewer know that Israeli law offers something considerably more powerful: a contractual estate plan that binds both spouses simultaneously and cannot be undone by one party changing their mind years later.

The hiskamet yerusha has no direct equivalent in US, UK, or Australian law. Anglo-American jurisdictions allow mutual wills but generally preserve each testator's right to revoke. Israeli law cuts through that ambiguity with a dedicated statutory framework under Section 8 of the Inheritance Law. How it works, and how it differs from both a standard will and a foreign prenuptial agreement, matters to any couple with Israeli assets who wants their estate plan to actually hold.

1. What Is a Hiskamet Yerusha Under the Inheritance Law?

Section 8(a) of the Inheritance Law 5725-1965 defines an inheritance agreement as an agreement between two people regarding the inheritance of either of them or both of them. In practice, this means any two people who stand in a potential inheritance relationship to each other: spouses, partners, and in some cases parents and adult children, though the most common use is between couples planning their estates jointly.

The agreement can cover a wide range of matters. Typical provisions include:

  • Each party leaving their estate, or specific assets within it, to the other upon first death
  • What happens to the surviving spouse's estate after their subsequent death — particularly important in blended families where each spouse has children from a prior relationship
  • The allocation of specific Israeli assets (an apartment, a business interest, a bank account) to named beneficiaries
  • Waiving intestate succession rights — so that the surviving partner does not inherit a share the couple agreed should go elsewhere
  • Mutual obligations to maintain a will in specific terms and not to revoke it without the other's consent

The agreement comes into legal force as a contract the moment it is properly executed. It does not wait for death to create obligations: if one party revokes a will that contradicts the agreement, the other can seek specific performance or damages even during their lifetime.

In Practice — Section 8 and the Registrar of Inheritances: When a probate application is filed with the Registrar of Inheritances (the administrative body within the Ministry of Justice's court system responsible for issuing succession orders and probate orders), the Registrar checks whether the deceased had made any inheritance agreement registered or otherwise brought to light. If a hiskamet yerusha exists and the deceased's will contradicts it, the Registrar refers the matter to the Family Court. The Family Court then assesses which instrument governs and whether the agreement is enforceable. This process adds approximately 3–6 months to an otherwise routine probate timeline, which is why the agreement should be clearly drafted and, ideally, its existence noted in the deceased's will.

2. How a Hiskamet Yerusha Differs from a Will

A will under the Inheritance Law is a unilateral document: the testator creates it alone, can amend it alone, can revoke it alone, and it takes effect only on death. The person who made the will has complete freedom to change course at any point before death, for any reason or no reason at all.

A hiskamet yerusha is a contract. Once both parties sign, it operates as a binding legal obligation. The key differences are:

  • Revocability: A will can be revoked unilaterally. A hiskamet yerusha cannot be revoked or modified by one party alone under Section 8(c). Any change requires both parties to sign a written modification or cancellation.
  • Enforceability during life: A will creates no rights until the testator dies. An inheritance agreement creates binding obligations from the moment of signing — a breach can be litigated in the Family Court before either party has died.
  • Interaction with subsequent wills: If a party to a hiskamet yerusha makes a later will that contradicts the agreement, the agreement generally prevails. The will is not void, but the beneficiaries under the agreement can seek to enforce it against the estate or seek damages from the estate for the breach.
  • Court oversight: Pre-marriage inheritance agreements require court approval (discussed below). Standard wills require no court involvement until probate.

Israeli law also recognises mutual wills (*tzava'ot hadadiyim*) under Section 29 of the Inheritance Law, where two testators make wills on a single document. However, a mutual will does not automatically create an irrevocable obligation: each testator can revoke their portion unless the will itself contains an express agreement not to revoke. In practice, a mutual will without an accompanying hiskamet yerusha provides weaker protection. The combination of a hiskamet yerusha and coordinated individual wills is the more reliable structure.

In Practice — The Mutual Will Problem: A couple in their 60s, each with children from prior marriages, signs mutual wills leaving everything to each other, then to their respective children. The husband later develops a close relationship with one of his children and revokes his will to leave more to that child. Under Section 29, the wife's mutual will does not bind him unless the document included an explicit no-revocation agreement. The wife finds out after his death. Her remedy is limited to claiming the share of the estate that the mutual will intended for her and her children — but the litigation is costly and uncertain. Had the couple signed a hiskamet yerusha instead, the husband's unilateral revocation would have been a breach of contract actionable before he died and enforceable against his estate after.

3. Legal Requirements and Court Approval

Section 8 sets out clear formal requirements for an inheritance agreement to be valid.

Writing and signatures: The agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. An oral agreement, however well-evidenced, does not meet the statutory threshold. This applies regardless of whether the agreement is made before or after marriage.

Pre-marriage agreements require court approval: Under Section 8(b) of the Inheritance Law, an inheritance agreement made before marriage is not binding unless it is confirmed by the Family Court. This parallels the court approval requirement for prenuptial financial agreements under the Financial Relations between Spouses Law 5733-1973. The court's role is to verify that both parties entered the agreement freely and with full understanding of its legal consequences — not to assess its fairness or commercial terms.

Post-marriage agreements do not require court approval: An inheritance agreement made after the marriage has been celebrated is binding on execution, without court involvement. However, many attorneys recommend an appearance before a notary public or the Registrar of Inheritances to create a contemporaneous record that both parties understood and voluntarily signed.

Capacity: Both parties must have legal capacity at the time of signing — the same standard that applies to making a valid will under Section 26 of the Inheritance Law: understanding the nature and content of the agreement, the extent of their assets, and the identity of those who would inherit from them in the absence of the agreement.

In Practice — Court Approval Process and Costs: A pre-marriage inheritance agreement is submitted to the Family Court along with a petition for approval under Section 8(b) of the Inheritance Law. Both parties, or their attorneys, typically attend a short hearing at which the judge confirms each party's understanding and voluntary consent. The court filing fee is currently approximately NIS 800–1,200 depending on the district court. The hearing itself is usually 15–30 minutes and procedural in nature. Where both parties are represented and the agreement is clearly drafted, approval is rarely refused. Attorney fees for a straightforward Section 8(b) petition range from NIS 5,000 to NIS 15,000 depending on complexity. Contested applications — where one party disputes the other's capacity or claims duress — can take 6–12 months and cost significantly more.

4. Why Couples Use Inheritance Agreements

The hiskamet yerusha solves a specific and common problem: couples who need their estate plans to be mutually guaranteed, not just mutually hoped for.

Second marriages and blended families. When each spouse has children from a prior relationship, both spouses want to protect their own children's eventual inheritance while also providing for the surviving partner. A standard will cannot guarantee this: the surviving spouse could, after the first death, revoke their will and leave everything to their own children, cutting out the deceased's children entirely. A hiskamet yerusha that specifies what happens after the second death locks in the arrangement both spouses agreed to.

Protecting an Israeli property for specific heirs. A foreign national who owns an apartment in Israel may want to guarantee it passes to their children from a first marriage, not to a current partner. The hiskamet yerusha allows the parties to carve that apartment out of the general estate arrangement and direct it to specific beneficiaries, with contractual force.

Common-law partners (yedua batzibur). Israeli courts recognise the status of yedua batzibur (ידוע בציבור) — an unmarried couple who live together publicly and hold themselves out as a couple. A yedua batzibur has certain intestate inheritance rights under Section 55 of the Inheritance Law (amended in 2016), but those rights are narrower and more disputed than a spouse's rights. A hiskamet yerusha between common-law partners provides the contractual certainty that their relationship status alone does not guarantee.

Business co-owners who are also spouses. Israeli spouses who jointly own a company sometimes use a hiskamet yerusha to confirm that company shares will pass to the surviving spouse rather than triggering a co-ownership dispute with the deceased's other heirs. This intersects with shareholder agreement provisions and should be coordinated with the company's articles of association.

In Practice — Section 55 and Common-Law Inheritance Rights: Section 55 of the Inheritance Law 5725-1965, as amended by the Inheritance Law (Amendment No. 12) 5776-2016, grants a yedua batzibur who cohabited with the deceased for at least three years (or less, if they had children together or one party was unable to marry) the same inheritance rights as a spouse in intestacy. However, this right is contested more often than spousal inheritance, because the party claiming yedua batzibur status must prove the relationship to the Registrar of Inheritances or the Family Court. Proof typically involves shared financial records, tenancy agreements, declarations to the National Insurance Institute (NII / Bituach Leumi), and witness testimony. A hiskamet yerusha signed while both parties are alive removes this evidentiary burden entirely — the agreement itself is proof of the parties' intentions.

5. The Risks: What Can Go Wrong

The same feature that makes a hiskamet yerusha useful — you cannot be unilaterally abandoned — is also the one that can trap you. Clients who sign without fully understanding this can find themselves bound to an arrangement they no longer want and have no way out of.

Changed circumstances. Life changes: relationships end, children are born, assets are acquired or sold, tax laws shift. A hiskamet yerusha signed in 2010 may no longer reflect the parties' wishes in 2026, but neither party can exit it unilaterally. If the relationship deteriorates and one party refuses to agree to a modification, the other is stuck with the original terms until a court grants relief.

Conflict with pension and life insurance designations. A hiskamet yerusha governs what passes through the estate. Pension funds and life insurance policies in Israel (managed by institutions regulated by the Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority — CMISA) pass to designated beneficiaries outside the estate entirely, under the rules specific to those instruments. An inheritance agreement that purports to direct a pension fund payout will not override a valid beneficiary designation filed with the fund. Couples who rely on a hiskamet yerusha without also updating their pension and insurance designations may find a significant portion of the estate takes a different route than intended.

Conflict with a foreign will or trust. Foreign nationals with assets in multiple countries sometimes sign a hiskamet yerusha to deal with Israeli assets and a separate estate plan in their home country for foreign assets. If the two plans are not coordinated, they can conflict. For example, a US trust that claims to hold "all my worldwide assets" may conflict with an Israeli inheritance agreement that purports to give specific Israeli property to a different beneficiary.

One party predeceasing the other by many years. If the first spouse dies when the surviving spouse is relatively young, the surviving spouse may spend decades bound to the second-death provisions of the hiskamet yerusha — unable to reorganise their estate without the deceased's (obviously unavailable) consent to modify. Careful drafting that addresses how the surviving spouse's estate is handled must balance the first spouse's desire for protection with the survivor's need for flexibility.

In Practice — Escaping a Hiskamet Yerusha: A party who wants out of an inheritance agreement must either obtain the other party's written consent to cancel or modify it, or apply to the Family Court for relief on limited grounds: that the agreement was made under duress (Section 17 of the Contracts Law 5733-1973, applicable by analogy), that the signing party lacked capacity, that there was a fundamental mistake or fraud (Section 14 of the Contracts Law), or that enforcement would be unconscionable given changed circumstances (Section 30 of the Contracts Law). The threshold for court-ordered cancellation is high. Israeli Family Courts treat inheritance agreements with the same seriousness as financial settlement agreements (heskemot gett), and will not unwind them lightly. Parties who find themselves in this position typically require litigation in the Family Court, with attorney fees ranging from NIS 20,000 to NIS 100,000+ depending on complexity and whether the matter settles.

6. How to Make a Valid Inheritance Agreement

Step 1: Instruct an Israeli attorney — each party should have independent advice. Unlike a will (which can technically be self-drafted, though inadvisable), an inheritance agreement has significant bilateral implications. Both parties should understand what they are giving up before they sign. Sharing one attorney creates a conflict of interest. Each party having their own counsel also reduces the risk of a later undue-influence challenge.

Step 2: Draft the agreement in Hebrew. The agreement should clearly identify the parties and their assets, specify what each party agrees to leave and to whom, address what happens on the second death, include a clause recording that each party has taken independent legal advice, and state that the agreement is made under Section 8 of the Inheritance Law 5725-1965. If the parties do not read Hebrew, a certified translation is needed, but the operative document for Israeli probate purposes must be in Hebrew.

Step 3: Execute correctly. Both parties sign in the presence of two witnesses (who are not beneficiaries under the agreement) or before a notary public. A notarised agreement is harder to challenge on grounds of improper execution.

Step 4: For pre-marriage agreements, file for court approval. The petition under Section 8(b) is filed at the local Family Court. Both parties attend the approval hearing. Once the court issues an approval order, the agreement is binding.

Step 5: Coordinate the wills. The hiskamet yerusha governs the obligation; the wills are the operative documents that transfer the assets in the Israeli probate process. Both parties should update their Israeli wills to reflect the agreement's terms. Each will should cross-reference the agreement and state that it is made pursuant to it. This makes the Registrar of Inheritances' job straightforward when probate is eventually filed.

Step 6: Notify the Registrar of Inheritances (optional but advisable). There is no mandatory registry for hiskamet yerusha agreements in Israel. However, the existence of an agreement can be noted with the Ministry of Justice's Inheritance Registry, and a copy can be deposited in the same file as any registered will. This makes it discoverable by heirs or the Registrar after death and reduces the risk that the agreement is overlooked during probate.

In Practice — Costs and Timelines: A straightforward post-marriage hiskamet yerusha — both parties agreed on terms, separate attorneys, executed and coordinated with updated wills — typically takes 4–8 weeks from initial instructions and costs NIS 8,000–25,000 in total attorney fees (both parties combined) depending on the complexity of the estate and whether the wills are drafted at the same time. A pre-marriage agreement that also requires Section 8(b) court approval adds 6–10 weeks for the court hearing and approximately NIS 800–1,200 in court filing fees. Where the parties hold significant assets (Israeli real estate, Israeli company shareholdings, pension funds), the drafting and coordination work is more involved and costs correspondingly more. These are one-time costs for a document that governs asset transfers potentially worth millions of NIS.

7. Foreign Nationals, Non-Residents, and Cross-Border Estates

Foreign nationals who own Israeli property. A non-resident investor or diaspora family member who owns an Israeli apartment is subject to Israeli inheritance law for that property under the lex situs rule — Section 136 of the Private International Law 5768-2010. Their estate plan for those Israeli assets can include a hiskamet yerusha, which gives both parties contractually binding certainty about what happens to the property regardless of where they live or what their home-country will says.

Dual-jurisdiction families. When both spouses have assets in Israel and abroad, a hiskamet yerusha for the Israeli estate should be coordinated with a foreign estate plan. The foreign plan might be a US revocable living trust, a UK will, or a French notarial settlement. Each instrument should be limited in scope — the hiskamet yerusha should expressly cover Israeli assets only, and the foreign plan should expressly exclude Israeli assets — so the two do not conflict. Failure to coordinate this is a recurring source of expensive probate disputes.

New immigrants (olim). Foreign nationals who made aliyah and brought assets to Israel often have existing estate plans from their prior country of residence. A hiskamet yerusha made after arriving in Israel supersedes any prior oral or informal understandings between spouses about inheritance. Olim who used foreign estate-planning instruments like US joint tenancy (which passes property automatically to the surviving co-owner outside probate) should understand that Israeli land registration operates differently: Israeli property held jointly is co-ownership (*shutfut*), not joint tenancy, and passes through the estate. A hiskamet yerusha is more relevant here, not less.

Language and authentication. A hiskamet yerusha made abroad or in a language other than Hebrew must be translated and authenticated before it is effective in Israeli proceedings. Apostille authentication of the original document and a certified Hebrew translation by a licensed translator are the standard requirements. The Registrar of Inheritances and the Family Court will not accept unauthenticated foreign documents.

In Practice — The Coordination Memo: When Israeli attorneys draft a hiskamet yerusha for a couple with assets in multiple jurisdictions, a useful ancillary document is a "jurisdiction memo" that maps each asset to the instrument that governs its succession. For example: Israeli apartment — covered by Israeli hiskamet yerusha and Israeli will; US brokerage account — covered by US revocable trust; UK pension — governed by beneficiary designation filed with the pension provider and subject to UK pension rules. This memo has no legal force of its own, but it gives probate professionals in each jurisdiction a clear roadmap and dramatically reduces the chance that one instrument is interpreted as overriding another. It is shared between the Israeli attorney, the foreign estate planner, and kept with each party's personal documents.
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