Let’s say you have an uncle who also had property in Jerusalem. He did not marry and had no kids but he made sure not to break contact with you and even assured that his home in Jerusalem would be yours once he passed away. For this very reason, he even gave you a copy of his will.
If he is deceased, you can claim your uncle’s estate in Jerusalem through a probate order. The land registry of Israel requires the heir to come with a probate order to transfer the beneficiary under any foreign (US) will.
Claiming a probate estate in Jerusalem
To start the probate estate process in Jerusalem, you need an Israeli probate lawyer to file the probate petition. The probate is prepared, filed, and submitted to the registrar’s office of probate in Jerusalem. As per the Law of inheritance in Jerusalem, the matter of inheritance will automatically be transferred to a religious family court.
The first thing a person has to do is sign the power of attorney. The power of attorney gives all the rights to a probate lawyer in Israel to handle the estate matter. Most of the time, foreigners do not know Hebrew. So, they cannot sign the document in Hebrew. For that, the probate attorney has to verify the signature and on the probate petition.
With that being said, both the petition and the power of attorney must be translated into English to go further with the process.
The petition of the probate estate is like an affidavit form that contains all the information such as the name of the deceased person, name of the heir, date of death, names of beneficiaries, place of death, and even the passport number. The type of assets and location of the estate properties are also included in the petition.
The documents required to file a probate petition must be signed by an apostille (if you are an international resident) or by an Israeli consulate.
The Israeli probate for a US will is very complicated as compared to probate for an Israeli will. Filing probate for the US will require additional documents. You cannot handle the process alone. That’s why you need a probate lawyer in Jerusalem to handle the inheritance matter legally.
Power of attorney for a probate estate in Jerusalem
Power of attorney gives your probate attorney the power to handle the matter on your behalf. It comes in all shapes and sizes. When dealing with Israeli inheritance law, here are the two types of power of attorney you should know of:
The specific power of attorney
If you want an Israeli lawyer to handle your probate estate or to represent you in the sale of a property and the court, you would need to sign a special power of attorney. No Israeli court will take action on your case unless your lawyer presents an authorized power of attorney in the court.
If you live in Israel, you can easily apply for power of attorney through your probate lawyer. However, if you are an international resident, we suggest you hire a probate attorney to get it signed by an Israeli apostille.
Irrevocable power of attorney
This type of power of attorney is used in real estate transactions. What happens is that the seller signs the document, allowing the probate lawyer to transfer all the rights to the heir, as mentioned in the agreement.
If you live abroad but have an estate that you want to claim through the law of inheritance, you can consult an international probate lawyer in Israel and do it fairly yet legally.
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