Home » Executor of a Will in Israel: Naming the Person Who Will Administer Your Estate

Executor of a Will in Israel: Naming the Person Who Will Administer Your Estate

A will is usually written to say who gets what. It rarely says who will actually do the work: listing the assets, unfreezing the bank accounts, settling the debts, then distributing. In Israel that role has a name — Menahel Izavon (מנהל עיזבון), the estate administrator — and the law allows the testator to choose that person himself. The mechanism looks like the executor known to civil-law and common-law systems, but its effects are quite different.

I. What an advance designation actually achieves

Where nobody has been designated, appointing an administrator requires either the consent of all interested parties or a decision of the Family Court (בית המשפט לענייני משפחה). This is exactly where estates stall: heirs scattered across several countries, or who no longer speak to one another, cannot agree on who should hold the purse strings. Meanwhile bank accounts stay frozen and property cannot be managed. Naming that person during one’s lifetime removes the deadlock before it arises: the choice has been made and does not have to be negotiated.

II. In Israel: the מנהל עיזבון chosen by the testator

The Israeli Succession Law (חוק הירושה, 1965) allows a testator to state in the will who is to execute it or administer the estate. Section 81 of that law governs this situation: the court or the Registrar appoints the person so named, unless that person cannot or will not accept, or there are special reasons not to appoint him.

Three practical consequences follow:

the application for appointment does not require the heirs’ consent — the Succession Regulations (תקנות הירושה, 1998) say so expressly for an application based on section 81;
it may be filed with the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs (רשם לענייני ירושה), the simpler administrative route, without first having to go to court;
the person named in the will is, as a rule, not required to provide security (ערובה), unless the court finds special reasons to demand it (section 89 of the law).

A clause of a few lines in a will can therefore save a family many months.

III. Being named is not the same as being appointed

This is the point most often misunderstood. The person named in the will does not take office by the mere fact of death. He must still be appointed by the Registrar or by the court, and that appointment assumes:

that he accepts the role — no one becomes an administrator without giving notice of consent (section 80 of the law);
that no special reason (טעמים מיוחדים) stands in the way. The authority retains a discretion, which it must state reasons for: a conflict of interest, lack of legal capacity, or plain unfitness to manage the assets concerned.

A testamentary designation therefore creates a strong presumption in favour of the chosen person, not an automatic right. It is wise to name a substitute, in case the first choice declines, has died, or is set aside.

IV. The powers come from the statute, not from the will

Once appointed, the Menahel Izavon (מנהל עיזבון) carries out the duties the law gives him: collecting the assets, managing the estate, paying the debts and distributing the balance among the heirs, under the court’s supervision. In particular he remains bound:

to draw up the estate inventory (פרטת העיזבון) and to account to the heirs for his management;
to obtain prior approval of the court for the acts listed by the law — in particular transferring, charging or dividing a dwelling, granting a lease subject to tenant-protection legislation, or any act whose validity depends on registration in a statutory register such as the Land Registry (Tabu) (section 97);
to answer personally for loss caused by a breach of his duties, and to face removal if he fails to perform them properly.

The trust the deceased placed in that person does not exempt him from supervision.

V. France and Israel: two institutions that do not overlap

Many estates involving Israel also have a French component, and French law has its own figure, the exécuteur testamentaire (articles 1025 et seq. of the Civil Code). The similarities end quickly:

Scope of the role. In France the executor sees to it that the testator’s wishes are carried out: protective measures, an inventory, the sale of movable property to pay urgent debts (art. 1029), and possession of the movables where the testator so empowers him (art. 1030). Only where no forced heir has accepted the estate may he be empowered to dispose of real property, pay the debts and carry out the division (art. 1030-1) — the sale of real property then requiring prior notice to the heirs, failing which it cannot be relied on against them.
Duration. The French role is time-limited: it ends no later than two years after the opening of the will, unless extended by the judge (art. 1032). Israeli estate administration lasts as long as the estate requires.
Remuneration. In France the executor serves in principle without pay (art. 1033-1), with expenses borne by the estate (art. 1034). In Israel the court may award the administrator remuneration, under rules laid down by regulations (section 91 of the Succession Law).
Who actually settles the estate. This is the decisive difference. In France the notaire is the hub of the settlement, and the executor works alongside him. In Israel there is no equivalent of the French notaire settling an estate: the procedure runs before the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs or the Family Court, and it is the lawyer who conducts it. The Israeli notary is a specially authorised lawyer whose office covers powers of attorney, certifications and translations — not the winding-up of the estate.

French law also distinguishes the executor from its management tools: the post-mortem mandate (art. 812 of the Civil Code), the contractual mandate agreed among heirs (art. 813) and the court-appointed estate agent (art. 813-1). These are separate instruments, frequently confused.

VI. Where assets sit in both countries

Drafting then calls for particular care. Three points to keep in mind:

EU Regulation No 650/2012 and the European Certificate of Succession do not bind Israel: a designation drafted with only Europe in mind does not automatically produce effect in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv;
if the designated person lives abroad, he will have to act in Israel through local counsel, and his acts will usually require a notarial power of attorney (ייפוי כוח נוטריוני), an apostille and a certified translation;
Israel levies no inheritance tax, but a later resale of inherited real estate raises the question of Mas Shevah (מס שבח), the land appreciation tax. It is better anticipated at the drafting stage than discovered on the day of sale.

Conclusion – Why work with a lawyer on estate administration?

Choosing the administrator of your own estate is one of the most useful decisions a will can contain — provided the clause is drafted so as to take effect where the assets actually are. Wording designed for French law may be a dead letter in Israel, and the reverse is equally true. That is where the two systems have to be made to fit together.

ABITBOL & ASSOCIÉS brings together lawyers admitted to the Israel Bar and to the Paris Bar, together with an Israeli notary: the testamentary clause, the procedure before the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs or the Family Court, and the powers of attorney or translations needed from abroad are handled by a single team, without having to coordinate two advisers who do not practise the same law.

With this in mind, ABITBOL & ASSOCIES, drawing on its expertise in Israeli succession law and private international law, supports its clients at every stage of settling the liabilities of an estate in Israel. Our lawyers make sure your interests are protected and that every step is taken in complete security.