How does a foreign national establish paternity for a deceased Israeli parent to claim inheritance rights?

Where an Israeli parent died without formally acknowledging a foreign national as their child, the claimant must petition the Family Court (Beit Mishpat LeMishpachat) for a post-mortem paternity declaration. Under Section 28a of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, the court may order DNA testing of available biological relatives — confirmed siblings, the deceased's parents, or other established children. Once paternity is declared, Section 3 of the Succession Law 5725-1965 treats the claimant identically to a child born in wedlock. The 7-year limitation period under the Limitation Law 5718-1958 runs from the date the claimant learned of the relevant facts, though courts retain discretion in exceptional circumstances.

In practice, a paternity claim runs parallel to the succession order proceedings at the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs (Rasham HaYerushot). The claimant's attorney should apply to the Registrar to hold the succession order pending the Family Court's paternity ruling — without that hold, the estate may be distributed to other heirs before the claim is resolved. The Guardian General (HaApotropos HaKlali) must be notified if any minor's interests are affected by the proceedings. A foreign national managing this from abroad should grant a notarized and apostilled power of attorney to an Israeli attorney before any filings are made. For more detail, see Blended Family Inheritance in Israel: Step-Children, Half-Siblings, and Non-Marital Children.