Adopted Children Granted Same Rights of Inheritance as Biological Children

The Knesset passed an amendment to section 16 of the Inheritance Law- 1965 equating adopted children to biological children by granting adopted children the right to inherit from their adoptive parents' relatives and granting the adoptive parents' relatives the right to inherit from the adopted child.

One interesting thing in the law (not as a result of the amendment) is that adopted children can inherit from both their biological and adoptive parents. Should adopted children be limited to inheriting from only one set of parents?

Note- This law only sets up the default inheritance rules but if someone wrote a valid will, that would control. There is nothing that would prevent a child from inheriting from 3 sets of parents via 3 separate wills.

Getting a Document Notarized in Israel for Use in the US

A topic that comes up every once in a while is whether a US attorney can notarize documents here in Israel. There are many US licensed attorneys living and practicing in Israel and it would certainly be convenient if US (or foreign) citizens could get their documents notarized for use in the US in front of one of them. I have seen posts by a US lawyer advertising his notarial services here in Israel and claiming that he is authorized by NY State to notarize documents in Israel. He is not.

In the United States, each state authorizes notaries to certify signatures and administer oaths. I am not familiar with any state that allows a notary public to certify a signature outside of the state where the notary is licensed. However, a notary from state A may notarize documents for use in state B only if the documents were signed in front of the notary while in state A. If the case was otherwise, any notary public from any state could notarize documents in any other state, which is not the case.

For example the Illinois Notary Handbook states:

GEOGRAPHICAL JURISDICTION

A notary public has jurisdiction to act as such throughout the State of Illinois (Sec. 3-105). In the certificates a notary is called upon to complete, there will be a heading such as “State of Illinois, County of ___________________”. The name of the county where the signer personally appeared before the notary public should be inserted on the certificate.

In New York, the Notary Public License Law states:

§135. Powers and duties; in general; of notaries public who are attorneys at law. Every notary public duly qualified is hereby authorized and empowered within and throughout the State to administer oaths and affirmations, to take affidavits and depositions, to receive and certify acknowledgments or proof of deeds, mortgages and powers of attorney and other instruments in writing...

But even more explicitly, the Department of State's webpage on Notarial and Authentication Services of U.S. Consular Officers Abroad addresses this question:

CAN A NOTARY PUBLIC FROM THE UNITED STATES PERFORM THAT FUNCTION ABROAD? No. The commission of a notary public is limited to the jurisdiction within the particular state in the U.S. for which the commission was issued. For additional information about notaries in the United States contact the National Notary Association, a Non-Profit Educational Organization, 8236 Remmet Avenue, P.O. Box 7184, Canoga Park, CA 91304-7184, tel: 818-713-4000.

Thus a person in Israel who needs something notarized by a US notary must make an appointment at the US consulate in Jerusalem or the embassy in Tel Aviv. Another option is to get the document notarized by an Israeli attorney and then get an apostille which is the authentication certification provided for under the Hague Convention Abolishing the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, a multilateral treaty to which the United States and Israel are parties. From the embassy website:

As an alternative, individuals requiring document notarization for use in the United States may also use Israeli notaries as follows:

Both Israel and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (October 5, 1961). The Convention calls for the use of a single signature by a designated certifying official in lieu of the chain certificate and abolishes the need for diplomatic or consular authentication. Under the Convention, the standard certification is called an apostille.

To use the Apostille, the document(s) must first be notarized by an Israeli notary. Those wishing to use a local notary for this service must contact them individually to see if they perform notaries. The notarized document must then be authenticated by the Magistrate's Court (Beith Mishpat Hashalom). Courthouses that offer this service are in Tel Aviv (03-6926211), Haifa (04-869-8000) and Jerusalem at the Ministry of Justice (02-6708511). There is no fee for the authentication.

Documents affixed with the apostille and the clerk's verification of the notary's signature using the above method, are just as acceptable in the United States as those notarized by the U.S. Embassy.

Note, however, that the above discussion pertains to documents that you need to get notarized. Official documents you receive from the Israeli government may only require an apostille without notarization. See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page to see which documents need only an apostille.

You can get an apostille for other documents by following this procedure:

If you need to issue an apostille on your Israeli documents for use outside of Israel, the procedure is as follows:

Go to an Israeli notary public with an original photo ID (i.e. passport or Teudat Zehut) and the document requiring notarization. Ask them to fill out an authorization of signature form to attach to the document that requires notarization. Each document requiring notarization needs an authorization of signature form. This includes copies of the same document. The charge is 177 NIS per document, notarization of photo ID’s costs 71 NIS. All notaries have to charge the same price for this service.

Once you have the documents notarized they will need an apostille sticker and stamp. Apostille services are offered in Magistrate Courts. In Jerusalem, the Beit Mishpat Hashalom provides apostille services. They are located in Migrash Harusim, room 229a. Public reception hours are 8:30am-13:00pm. During July and August the hours are from 9am-12:00pm.

Lawyer's Language: Home sweet home - JPost - Lifestyle

There's some helpful legal tips in the JPost today:

Lawyer's Language: Home sweet home - JPost - Lifestyle:

By CAROLINE WALSH 
11/22/2011 10:58 

Lawyer Caroline Walsh answers your questions about coping with the Israeli legal system.

Although many of us have a smattering or even a fairly good grasp of Hebrew for every-day purposes, when it comes to official documents it's almost impossible to make sense of these in a foreign language. If your mother- tongue is not Hebrew but you live or have interests in Israel, you may have accepted the fact you will be forced to sign documents in Hebrew which you don't understand – but is that wise? You don’t need a lawyer to tell you the answer is no and, more than that, it's often not really necessary. Did you know that you can get bank statements in English and that most of the Israeli banks can give you access to their on-line services in English as well?

When it comes to legally-binding documents, even more caution should be exercised. You should certainly not sign anything in Hebrew if you don't fully understand the contents or implications, especially if you have the option to sign in English.

Q: We are selling our apartment in Raanana and the buyers are also English speakers. Can we draw up the contract in English?

A: In most cases, yes. If the property you are selling is built on private land registered at the Land Registry and if the buyers are happy to have the contract drawn up in English, there is no reason why you should not do so. The sale contract does not have to be filed to transfer ownership, the deeds of sale are sufficient for this. These are standard one-page documents which your lawyer will prepare with details of the property and the transaction. You will need to submit the contract to the Registry to register a restriction in favor of the buyers, but most branches of the Land Registry (Tabu) accept documents in either Hebrew, Arabic or English. For the same reason, if you wish to sign a power of attorney authorizing your lawyer to act on your behalf in the sale, this can also be in English.

If the property is not registered at the Land Registry, or is not on private land, then you may need to have a contract in Hebrew. If so, your lawyer should provide you with a translation of the salient points. Alternatively, you could use a contract in English and have this translated and notarized. For example, although most properties in Raanana are privately owned, in areas such as Bet Shemesh the land is owned through the Israel Lands Authority which does not accept documents in English. In addition, if you are buying a new apartment which will not yet have been registered at the Land Registry, your lawyer will need to ask the developers whether they will accept documents in English. If not, in larger projects where there are several foreign buyers, the developers will often agree to have the paperwork translated for you.

Q: I own an apartment in Israel and have been told that I should have a second Will to cover only my Israeli property, but I don't speak Hebrew. Do you recommend having a separate Will and can it be in English?

A: A Will which is valid abroad will usually be valid in Israel but there are several reasons why you may wish to have a separate Will just for your Israeli property. Firstly, foreign probate orders are not recognized here in Israel and so your heirs will need to apply for a separate order here in Israel in any event. As foreign Wills are often lengthy and complex – for example, due to tax planning provisions - the Israeli courts are unlikely to accept these without requiring a notarized translation of the whole Will. You might also wish to appoint different executors to manage your estate here in Israel, particularly since the Israeli courts will not appoint non-resident executors. In addition, having a separate Will allows an application to be filed in Israel without waiting for procedures abroad to be completed.

If you do decide to draw up a separate Will for your Israeli property, I strongly recommend that is it drafted in English. It is vitally important that you understand exactly what you are signing. Since such Wills are usually simple and concise, the Israeli courts will often accept these in English without requiring a translation into Hebrew. Even if a Hebrew version is required at a later stage, a notarized translation can be prepared on the basis of your original will which will be accepted by all the relevant authorities.

An important reminder: If you do decide to draft a separate Will for your Israeli assets, you must make it clear that this does not revoke any other Wills you have for your property outside Israel.

This article is presented for your general information and does not constitute legal advice. You should obtain specific legal advice about your estate before taking (or deciding not to take) any action. Please contact Caroline for further information.© SaftWalsh 2011. All rights reserved.