We receive a version of this phone call at least once a month.

An adult child — usually living in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, or London — calls to explain that their mother or father has had a stroke, been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, or suffered sudden cognitive decline. The parent owns an apartment in Netanya, a bank account at Bank Leumi, or undeveloped land in the Negev. The family needs to pay municipal taxes, manage tenants, access funds, or sell the property. And they have just discovered that no one in the family can do any of it.

Not the spouse. Not the children. Not a U.S.-appointed agent under a power of attorney.

The parent is alive — but legally unable to act. Having an Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney in place can streamline asset management and avoid court proceedings.

This article is for two groups of people: those already managing Israeli assets during a guardianship crisis, and those who want to prevent such issues across borders proactively.

The Scenario No One Plans For

Most families who own property in Israel never think about what happens if the owner becomes incapacitated. They may have a will, which is important — but a will only takes effect after death. It does nothing during life.

The gap between incapacity and death can stretch for years. During that time, someone needs to pay the Arnona (municipal property tax). Someone needs to deal with the bank. If there is a tenant, someone needs to enforce the lease, collect rent, and authorize repairs. If co-owners want to sell, someone needs to sign the contract on the incapacitated person’s behalf.

Without prior legal planning under Israeli law, no one has the authority to do any of these things.

Why Your American or British Power of Attorney Will Not Work

This is the single most common misconception we encounter. Families assume that because they have a general or durable power of attorney prepared by a U.S. or U.K. solicitor, they are covered.

They are not.

It will not authorize a sale of Israeli real estate at the Tabu (Land Registry) or allow anyone to deal with Israeli authorities, underscoring the need for proper Israeli legal instruments to avoid confusion and frustration.

Israeli property is governed by Israeli law, and authority over Israeli assets must be established through Israeli legal instruments. This is true whether the property owner is an Israeli citizen, a dual-citizen living abroad, or a foreign national who has inherited or purchased property in Israel. For a broader understanding of how Israeli law governs these matters, see our overview of Israeli succession law.

What Happens When There Is No Israeli Power of Attorney: The Guardianship Process

If a person who owns Israeli assets becomes mentally incapacitated and has no Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney in place, the only legal path forward is guardianship — known in Israel as apotropsut (אפוטרופסות).

Here is what that process actually looks like.

Filing a Court Petition

A family member must file a formal petition with the Israeli Family Court requesting the appointment of a guardian over the person and/or their property. This is not a simple form. It requires legal representation by an Israeli attorney and must comply with specific procedural rules.

Gathering Medical Evidence

The court requires medical documentation establishing that the person is incapable of managing their own affairs. If the incapacitated person is living abroad — as is often the case with our clients — this medical evidence may need to come from foreign doctors, be translated into Hebrew by a certified translator, and carry an Apostille for authentication in Israel.

Social Worker and Court Evaluation

The Israeli court may appoint an independent social worker or court evaluator to assess the situation, interview family members, and recommend who should serve as guardian and what powers that guardian should have.

The Court Decides — Not the Family

This is a critical point that many families do not anticipate. The family’s preferences do not bind the court. It independently evaluates the best interests of the incapacitated person. If there are disagreements among family members — and, in our experience, these situations often surface underlying tensions — the court may appoint a professional or public guardian rather than a relative.

Limited and Supervised Powers

Even when a family member is appointed, the court typically limits the guardian’s authority and requires ongoing reporting. The guardian may need to return to court for approval before selling property, making large transactions, or changing the management of assets.

Public Record

Unlike a private power of attorney, guardianship proceedings in Israel are a matter of court record. For families who value privacy, this is a significant concern.

Timeline

The entire process can take many months, especially in cross-border cases, making early planning essential to avoid prolonged asset freeze and uncertainty.

The Real-World Cost of Waiting

While the guardianship petition works its way through the court system, the consequences accumulate on the ground.

• Municipal taxes keep accruing. Arnona does not pause because the property owner is incapacitated. Unpaid taxes generate penalties, and the municipality may eventually place a lien on the property.
• Bank accounts incur fees — or are frozen entirely. Israeli banks will not allow anyone to access or manage the account without legal authorization. Maintenance fees continue. If the account holds pension funds or insurance-linked assets, those products have their own management requirements that go unmet.
• Tenants may stop paying rent. If the property is rented, tenants may realize there is no authorized landlord to enforce the lease. Without someone empowered to act, rent collection stops, and there is no legal recourse until a guardian is appointed.
• Property deteriorates. Buildings in Israel require ongoing maintenance, participation in va’ad bayit (building committee) decisions, and sometimes compliance with municipal orders. An unmanaged property can decline in value and condition.
• Co-owners are stuck. If the incapacitated person co-owns Israeli real estate with siblings or other family members — a very common situation after inheritance — no one can sell or transfer the property because one co-owner cannot sign. The other co-owners are left waiting for a guardian to be appointed before any transaction can proceed. For more about the complexities of selling inherited property, see our guide to selling inherited property in Israel.
• Unclaimed property risks increase. Bank accounts and financial assets that remain unmanaged for extended periods may eventually be classified as dormant or unclaimed under Israeli law, creating additional bureaucratic hurdles for the family.

The Prevention: The Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney

Israeli law provides a specific instrument designed precisely for this situation: the Yipui Ko’ach Mitmashekh (ייפוי כוח מתמשך), or Lasting Power of Attorney.

This instrument, introduced into Israeli law in recent years under amendments to the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, allows a person to designate in advance who will manage their affairs if they lose the capacity to do so themselves.

How It Works

A person appoints one or more agents to act on their behalf in the event of future incapacity. The appointment can cover financial affairs, property management, medical decisions, personal welfare, or all of the above. The person signing the document — the principal — can specify exactly what powers the agent has, set conditions and limitations, appoint a supervisor to oversee the agent, and give instructions for how specific decisions should be made.

Key Requirements

The Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney must be:

• Signed while the person is still mentally competent. This is an absolute requirement. Once incapacity has set in, the window has closed.
• Prepared and witnessed by a specially certified Israeli attorney. Not every Israeli lawyer is authorized to handle this document — the certifying attorney must have completed specific training and be registered for this purpose.
• Registered with the Israeli Administrator General and Official Receiver (Apotropos Klali). Registration is what gives the document legal force.

Activation Without Court Involvement

This is the most important distinction between a Lasting Power of Attorney and the guardianship process. When the principal becomes incapacitated, the Lasting POA activates through a defined process that does not require a court petition. The agent can begin acting on the principal’s behalf — paying taxes, managing bank accounts, dealing with tenants, signing contracts — without the delays, expense, and intrusiveness of a guardianship proceeding.

For Non-Residents of Israel

For property owners who live in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere outside Israel, the Lasting Power of Attorney can be prepared by an Israeli attorney and signed at an Israeli consulate abroad or during a visit to Israel. The process does not require the person to relocate or maintain residency in Israel.

This is especially important for dual citizens, former Israeli residents who emigrated decades ago, and people who inherited Israeli property and may never have lived in Israel at all.

Works Alongside Your Existing Planning

An Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney specifically covers Israeli assets. It works alongside — not instead of — any U.S. durable power of attorney, U.K. lasting power of attorney, or Canadian power of attorney the person may have in place for assets in those countries. Comprehensive estate planning in Israel means coordinating Israeli instruments with your existing documents to ensure there are no gaps.

For a detailed explanation of the Israeli Durable Power of Attorney process and how to prepare it, see our full guide: Israeli Durable Power of Attorney.

What We Tell Our Clients

At Aharoni Law, we handle Israeli estate planning for international clients across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Many of our clients come to us initially for help with probate, inheritance, or a real estate transaction. In nearly every case, we ask the same question:

Does anyone in your family own Israeli assets and not yet have an Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney?

We ask because we have seen — repeatedly — what happens when the answer is no and it is too late.

We have helped families navigate the guardianship process when there was no other option. It is manageable, and the courts do their best, but it is always more expensive, time-consuming, and more emotionally difficult than it needs to be. Every family we have guided through guardianship has said the same thing afterward: We wish we had known about this sooner.

The Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney is not complicated. It does not require a trip to Israel (though it can be done during a trip to Israel). It does not require the person to be elderly or ill — in fact, the best time to do it is when the person is healthy and fully competent. It is a straightforward legal step that removes a potentially devastating obstacle for your family.

We recommend it to every client who owns Israeli property, holds Israeli bank accounts, or has any financial interest in Israel. It is one of the most impactful legal planning tools a family can put in place.

A Note from Our Founder

My name is Rahav D. Aharoni, and I founded this firm with a deep personal understanding of why estate planning matters.

My father passed away in 2006. I experienced firsthand the challenges of managing a family estate — the bureaucratic hurdles, the emotional weight, and the countless decisions that must be made during a time of grief. That experience shaped my career and drives my commitment to helping families plan, so they do not face those challenges unprepared.

When I advise clients to put an Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney in place, I am not speaking from a textbook. I am speaking from the conviction that a small amount of planning today can save your family enormous difficulty tomorrow.

If your parent, grandparent, or family member owns property or assets in Israel, I encourage you to have this conversation with them now — while there is still time to act.

Rahav D. Aharoni, Adv. Founder, Aharoni Law Firm, Israel Bar Association License No. 47409, admitted 2007.

What Our Clients Say

Families trust us with some of the most sensitive and complex legal matters they face. Here is what a few of them have shared:

“Mr. Rahav Aharoni helped my elderly mother with the probate process of her late husband, enabling the release of her funds from Israel. He worked tirelessly through a complicated system and was quick to politely answer questions on the phone and email within a few hours, sometimes within minutes.”

“He accomplished what over 40 years of family fighting couldn’t solve. He has a positive attitude even when family dynamics present challenges. He became family.”

“Rahav Aharoni was instrumental in cutting through the red tape to complete a complicated inheritance of property in Israel that we received from a great uncle who had died in the Holocaust. It had been without a legal owner for more than 80 years.” — Leo Wolinsky, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA.

Read more reviews on ProvenExpert (5.00 out of 5.00).

Take the Next Step Today

Whether you are dealing with an incapacity crisis right now or want to make sure your family never has to face one, we are here to help.

Aharoni Law Firm advises families across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel on Israeli estate planning, powers of attorney, inheritance, and real estate matters. We handle every step — from preparing the Israeli Lasting Power of Attorney to coordinating with your existing estate plan in your home country.

Schedule a consultation:

• Phone (US & Canada): 888-923-0022
• Phone (Israel): 972-3-905-5478

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Office Locations: Beverly Hills, New York, Miami, and Tel Aviv

Office Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Friday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Quick Reference: With Planning vs. Without

	Without Israeli Lasting POA	With Israeli Lasting POA
Who decides?	The Israeli court	The person themselves, in advance
Timeline to access assets	Months (potentially longer for non-residents)	Days to weeks after activation
Cost	Significant — court fees, legal fees, evaluator fees	A fraction of the guardianship cost
Privacy	Court proceedings are a public record	Private document
Family’s choice of agent	The court may override the family preference	The family’s chosen agent is appointed
Ongoing supervision	Court-mandated reporting and approval	The agent acts per the principal’s instructions
Court involvement	Required	Not required