Can an heir renounce an Israeli inheritance in favor of a specific person?

Israeli law treats renunciation (histalkut, giving up an inheritance) as a formal act with defined effects. Under Section 6, an heir may renounce a share of an estate, in whole or in part, by a written declaration filed before the estate has been distributed. A general renunciation does not let the heir pick a destination for the share. Instead the law treats the renouncing heir as if they never existed, and the share is redistributed to the remaining heirs under the intestacy rules or the terms of the will. Section 6(b) creates the only carve-out: the heir may renounce in favor of the deceased's spouse, the deceased's child, or the deceased's sibling. A renunciation cannot be made conditional, and once filed it generally cannot be reversed.

For a foreigner this distinction matters more than it first appears. A heir who wants their own child, a friend, or a charity to receive the share cannot achieve that through Section 6, because those people are not the spouse, child, or sibling of the deceased. The practical route is to accept the inheritance and then make a separate gift or assignment of the property. Israel abolished inheritance and estate tax in 1981, so receiving the share is not itself taxed, but a later gift of Israeli real estate can attract purchase tax for the recipient, and a future sale carries capital gains tax on the accrued value. Timing is critical: the renunciation must be registered before a succession or probate order distributes the estate to the heirs.

From the full guide: Renouncing an Inheritance in Israel: How Disclaimer Works

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