When families discover that a grandparent or great-grandparent owned property in Israel — land purchased in the 1920s, a home in Tel Aviv that has sat unclaimed for half a century, or a plot registered under a name no one in the family has used in three generations — the initial reaction is usually excitement. Then comes the question every heir eventually asks: What do we actually need to do to claim this?
The answer is rarely simple. And the reason has everything to do with a legal requirement that most people outside the Israeli legal system have never encountered. When the original property owner died decades ago, their children had also passed away; a separate probate order must be obtained from an Israeli court for every deceased person in the chain of inheritance before a single living heir can be registered as the owner.
Understanding that multiple probate petitions can be time-consuming and costly, we guide clients through estimated timelines and fees at the initial consultation, helping them plan accordingly.
Why Multiple Probate Orders Are Required Under Israeli Law
Israel’s Succession Law of 1965 governs all matters of inheritance involving assets located in Israel. Israeli courts have jurisdiction over any estate that includes Israeli property, regardless of where the deceased person lived or held citizenship.
Under this law, ownership of property does not transfer automatically upon death. A court must issue either a Probate Order (when the deceased left a will) or a Succession Order (when there was no will), confirming who the legal heirs are and what share each heir receives. Only after this order is issued can the property be transferred at the Tabu (Israel Land Registry).
Here is the critical point: each deceased person in the chain requires their own, separate probate petition. If the original property owner died in 1945, and his son — one of three heirs — died in 1992, you cannot simply file one petition naming the living grandchildren as heirs. You must first obtain an order for the original owner (establishing that his three children inherited), and then obtain a separate order for the son who died in 1992 (establishing that his own children inherited his share). Each generation, each death, requires its own legal proceeding.
This requirement applies regardless of where in the world the deceased person lived or died. A grandfather who emigrated from British Mandate Palestine to Brooklyn in 1935 and died there in 1980 still requires an Israeli probate proceeding for his share of Israeli property — even if his estate was fully probated in New York decades ago.
Foreign Probate Orders Do Not Transfer Israeli Property
One of the most common misunderstandings we encounter is the assumption that an existing probate order from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or another country will be recognized in Israel. It will not. Clarifying this helps clients feel more confident and reduces confusion about international legal procedures.
Many clients assume that foreign probate orders suffice for the transfer of Israeli property; however, we clarify that Israeli courts require their own independent proceeding for every deceased person whose estate includes Israeli assets. The foreign order may be submitted as supporting evidence — and it can be helpful — but it should emphasize the importance of expert legal guidance in this area.
Given the complexity of foreign legal opinions and cross-jurisdictional coordination, our experienced attorneys manage these processes to ensure compliance and efficiency for your inheritance claims.
A Real-World Example: How a Single Property Can Require Six to Eight Probate Orders
To understand how these chains develop, consider a scenario based on the kinds of cases our firm regularly handles (details anonymized and composited for illustration).
A man purchased land in what is now central Israel in the 1920s, during the British Mandate. He died in Poland in the early 1940s. His wife also died during that period. They had three children: one emigrated to the United States in the 1930s, one emigrated to Argentina, and one remained in Europe and was killed in the Holocaust.
The child who moved to America settled in New York, raised a family, and died in the 1990s. The child who moved to Argentina died in Buenos Aires in the 2000s. Now, decades later, the living grandchildren and great-grandchildren — scattered across New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and London — learn that their ancestor’s land still exists and is registered in his name at the Tabu.
To establish a clear title so the property can be registered to the living heirs, the following probate petitions are needed in Israeli courts:
- A Succession Order for the original landowner (the great-grandfather who died in Poland in the 1940s)
- A Succession Order for his wife
- A probate proceeding establishing the death of the child killed in the Holocaust, along with that child’s entitlement
- A Succession Order for the child who emigrated to the United States and died in the 1990s
- A Succession Order for the child who emigrated to Argentina and died in the 2000s
- Potentially, additional orders for the spouses of the deceased children, depending on the inheritance law that applies to each
That is six to eight separate Israeli probate petitions for a single piece of land. Each petition requires its own set of death certificates, marriage certificates, birth certificates, and — where a will exists — the original will. Each document issued outside Israel must be Apostilled by the competent authority of the issuing country and translated into Hebrew by a certified translator. Explaining this detailed process helps clients feel informed and prepared for the legal journey ahead.
And some of those documents may not exist. A death certificate from 1940s Poland for a person killed during the Holocaust may never have been issued. In such cases, the attorney must assemble alternative evidence: affidavits from surviving family members, records from Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial authority), immigration records, naturalization papers, Red Cross tracing service documents, and sometimes old family correspondence. Hebrew and Yiddish name variations — a grandfather who was “Shlomo” on his land registration, “Solomon” on his U.S. naturalization papers, and “Salomón” on his Argentine identity card — must be reconciled and explained to the court.
How Long Does This Actually Take?
A single probate petition for a deceased person who lived outside Israel typically takes four to six months from filing to issuance of the order. This assumes the documentation is complete, no interested parties object, and the Israeli Inheritance Registrar or Family Court processes the petition without requesting supplemental materials (which is not always the case).
Now multiply that by the number of deceased persons in the chain. If a case requires six probate orders and they must be filed sequentially — each one waiting for the previous order to be issued before the next can be filed — the timeline can stretch to two or three years or longer.
This is where the attorney’s experience makes a significant difference. In some cases, petitions can be filed in parallel rather than sequentially. For example, the probate petition for a deceased child and that child’s deceased spouse may be filed at the same time if the legal relationships and shares are clear. An attorney who has handled hundreds of these chains knows which petitions can proceed concurrently and which must wait, and structures the filing strategy accordingly.
After all probate orders have been obtained, the property must then be registered at the Tabu in the names of the living heirs. If the property is land managed by the Unit for Location and Restitution of Unclaimed Property, an additional release application must be submitted to the office of the Guardian General (the Apotropos HaKlali) before registration can proceed. Each of these steps has its own requirements and its own timeline.
What We’ve Seen in Practice
Over the course of handling hundreds of probate cases for clients living outside Israel — including many involving complex, multi-generational inheritance chains — our firm has developed a set of practical insights that we share with clients from the very first consultation.
- Parallel filing is possible more often than people think, but not always. When the chain is clear and the relationships among the deceased are well documented, we can often file two, three, or even four petitions simultaneously. This can cut the overall timeline by a year or more. But when ownership shares depend on the outcome of a prior order — for instance, when the share of one branch depends on whether a Holocaust victim died with or without descendants — the petitions must proceed in sequence.
- Missing documents are the rule, not the exception. In cases involving deaths from the 1930s and 1940s, we rarely have a complete set of official vital records. We have built relationships with archives, tracing services, and genealogical researchers in multiple countries to locate alternative documentation. When official records simply do not exist, we prepare affidavits and present the court with the most complete evidentiary picture possible.
- Name discrepancies require careful handling. A single person might appear under three or four different name spellings across documents from different countries and decades. Transliterations from Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, German, and Arabic all create variations. We routinely prepare name-reconciliation affidavits explaining these discrepancies to the court.
- Coordinating heirs across multiple countries is a logistical challenge in itself. When the living heirs are spread across the United States, South America, Europe, and Israel, collecting signatures, notarized documents, and powers of attorney requires careful planning. Time zone differences, language barriers, and varying notarization requirements in different jurisdictions all factor in. We coordinate this process centrally from our offices so that individual heirs are not left trying to navigate foreign legal systems on their own.
- The e-filing system has improved efficiency. The Israeli Inheritance Registrar and Family Court now accept electronic filings for most probate petitions. This has meaningfully reduced processing times compared to years past, particularly for cases involving non-resident heirs who previously had to rely entirely on physical mail and in-person filings.
- There is no inheritance or estate tax in Israel. This is a point of relief for many of our clients. Israel does not impose a tax on inherited property. However, heirs residing in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or other countries may have reporting obligations in their home jurisdictions — particularly regarding foreign asset disclosure. We always advise clients to consult with a tax professional in their country of residence to ensure compliance.
A Personal Experience from Our Founder, Rahav D. Aharoni, Adv.
I want to add a personal note on this topic, because it is one I understand not only as a lawyer but also as someone who has lived it.
My own father passed away in 2006, and I experienced firsthand what it means to manage a family estate in Israel — the paperwork, the bureaucracy, the emotional weight of dealing with legal proceedings while grieving. That experience is part of why I built this firm the way I did: to be the attorney I wish my family had had.
When a client comes to us with a chain-of-inheritance case — whether it involves two probate orders or ten — we explain the full scope of what lies ahead during the initial consultation. We lay out every step, every petition, every document that will be needed, and we provide a realistic timeline. There are no surprises down the road. We believe that informed clients are empowered clients, and that transparency about the complexity of these cases is not a reason to be discouraged — it is the foundation for getting the job done right.
Our firm has handled cases where property sat without a legal owner for more than 80 years. We have coordinated probate chains involving heirs on four continents. We have obtained court orders based on evidence pieced together from Holocaust memorial archives, immigration manifests, and handwritten letters in Yiddish. These are the cases that define our practice, and we approach each one with the seriousness and persistence it deserves.
If your family has unclaimed property in Israel and you are facing a multi-generational chain of inheritance, I encourage you to reach out for a complimentary consultation.
— Rahav D. Aharoni, Adv. Founder, Aharoni Law Firm, Israel Bar Association Lic. No. 47409 (since 2007) Over 20 years of experience in Israeli inheritance, probate, succession, and real estate law.
Our Firm Is Here To Help. Contact Us For A Free Consultation
If you have discovered that your family may be entitled to property in Israel — whether through a letter from the Guardian General’s office, a family story, or your own research — we are here to help you understand exactly what the process involves and guide you through every step.
Aharoni Law Firm maintains offices in Beverly Hills, New York, Miami, and Tel Aviv and represents clients worldwide.
Phone:
- United States & Canada: 888-923-0022
- Israel: 972-3-905-5478
Office Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Friday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
