Who receives the Israeli child allowance from Bituach Leumi after parents divorce?

The child allowance, kitzvat yeladim, is a universal benefit tied to residence in Israel rather than to either parent's income or contribution record. Because the National Insurance Institute administers it under statute, its rules operate independently of the family court file. The Institute looks at the address registered for the child and at which parent is running the household, and it pays that parent. Where a divorce changes the arrangement, the receiving parent must notify the Institute directly and file the relevant form, because the Institute does not automatically receive Family Court judgments. Payment continues monthly from birth until the end of the month in which the child turns 18.

Shared parenting made the old default untenable, and the Institute now recognises an equal split where both parents genuinely share physical custody. Both parents normally sign a joint request, or one parent produces a judgment recording an approximately equal parenting schedule, and each then receives half the monthly sum into their own account. Foreign or non-resident parents face a further limit: the allowance follows the child's residence in Israel, and payment is suspended once the child has been abroad continuously for an extended period. Where the receiving parent stops paying maintenance or leaves the country, the allowance does not substitute for support, and enforcement runs separately through the Execution Office. For how the courts weigh each parent's resources, see the guide to child support in Israel.

From the full guide: Child Support in Israel: How It Works for International Families

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