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Inheritance & Probate

How is an Israeli estate divided when the deceased had children from more than one marriage?

All of the deceased's children inherit equally, whichever marriage each child was born into. Section 10 of the Succession Law 5725-1965 places the surviving spouse and the children in the first class of heirs, and Section 11 gives the spouse the household movables, the household vehicle and half of the remaining estate where children survive. The other half is then split in equal shares among every child, with a predeceased child's share passing down to that child's own descendants. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted take nothing under these default rules.

Israeli succession law makes no distinction between half-siblings and full siblings, or between a child born during a first marriage and a child born during a third. What matters is the legal parent-child relationship, not the marriage that produced it. Before the estate is even measured, the surviving spouse's own property rights are separated out: under the Spouses (Property Relations) Law 5733-1973 the marital balancing arrangement gives the survivor their own half of property accumulated during that marriage, and only the deceased's half enters the estate. The Registrar of Inheritance Affairs then applies Sections 10 and 11 and issues a succession order stating each heir's fraction in numbers, which is the document banks and the Land Registry act on.

For diaspora families this is where expectations and law diverge most sharply. Adult children of a first marriage often assume the Tel Aviv apartment their parent bought decades ago passes to them, then discover that a later spouse takes half of it plus every item of household property. Israel has no forced heirship, so a will can rearrange all of this, and a will drafted years before a remarriage frequently no longer matches the family it governs. If you believe the shares are wrong, an objection has to reach the Registrar before the succession order issues, because once it is signed the file moves to a much slower correction track. Heirs who agree on a different split can also sign an estate distribution agreement. See the full guide to blended family inheritance in Israel.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Sections 10 and 11, Succession Law 5725-1965; marital property separated first under the Spouses (Property Relations) Law 5733-1973
  • Competent authority: Registrar of Inheritance Affairs (Rasham LeInyanei Yerusha); a contested file is transferred to the Family Court (Beit Mishpat LeInyanei Mishpacha)
  • Spouse's statutory share: household movables and the household vehicle, plus one half of the remaining estate where children survive; the children divide the other half equally
  • Fees: approximately NIS 500–1,000 for the succession order application and the required newspaper publication (2026)
  • Timeline: an uncontested succession order is usually issued within 4–8 weeks; a contested blended-family file commonly runs 12–24 months in the Family Court
  • Objection window: an objection must be filed before the order is signed, after which only a formal amendment application is available

From the full guide: Blended Family Inheritance in Israel: Step-Children, Half-Siblings & More

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Get a Free Consultation with Adv. Eli ShimonyPrepared under the direction of Adv. Eli Shimony, Eli Shimony Law Office · Editorial policy

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