5.2 Limits of Right to Maintenance

For how long is a widower spouse entitled to maintenance from the estate?

All the time he remains a widower. Re-marriage stops the right to maintenance from the estate.

For how long is a widow entitled to maintenance from the estate?
A widow is certainly entitled to maintenance from the estate while she remains a widow, and even if she re-marries, the court has discretion to award her a lump sum, depending on the circumstances. 

Can a widower get a lump-sum payment from the estate if he remarries?
No! This possibility only applies to a widow. The Inheritance Act of 1965 makes a clear distinction here.

Is a surviving spouse still entitled to maintenance from the estate if he/she was only married to the deceased for a short time?

Yes!

Is a surviving spouse who was in the process of divorcing the deceased still entitled to maintenance from the estate?
Yes ! The surviving spouse is entitled to maintenance from the estate until that right is taken away i.e. the entitlement holds as long as the marriage technically existed at the time the deceased passed away.

Until what age are the deceased's children entitled to maintenance from the estate?
Until they are aged 18, and in certain circumstances, the court can grant this until they are 23.

Can a young adult receive maintenance from the estate?
Not if he is over 23, unless he is disabled, mentally ill or retarded.

Are there any special provisions for the maintenance of a disabled child?
Yes, he/she is entitled to maintenance from the estate all his/her life.

Are there any special provisions regarding the right of a mentally ill child to maintenance from the estate?
Yes, a mentally ill child is entitled to be supported by the estate all the time he/she remains in that state.

Are there any special provisions regarding the right of someone who is mentally retarded to maintenance from the estate?

Yes, a mentally retarded child is entitled to be supported by the estate.

For how long are the deceased's parents entitled to maintenance from the estate?
If, when he/she died, the deceased took financially responsibility for his/her parents, then they will be entitled to financial support from the estate for the rest of their lives.

What to the deceased's parents have to do to get maintenance from the estate?
They have to prove to the court that the deceased supported them wholly or partially when he/she died.

What happens if the parents had several children, but only one of them supported them financially?

Only the one who supported them is responsible, and they will only have a right to maintenance from that child's estate, not from the estate of any other children, should they die.

What is the basis for a widow's right to maintenance from the estate?

Personal (religious) law, so that if her right is taken away under this during their lifetime, then she will not be entitled to maintenance after his death.

Is a surviving spouse who lost the right to maintenance during the deceased's lifetime, entitled to maintenance from the estate?

No! For example, in the case of Jews, if the surviving spouse had filed her late husband for maintenance during his lifetime, but she had lost this right under Jewish law because it had been proved that she had committed adultery, then she will not be entitled to maintenance from his estate, even if they were still married when he died.

Is it possible that a husband will lose his right to maintenance from his late wife's estate?

No, unless he remarries, but not because of his behaviour during their marriage, because men do not have a right to be supported by their wives in Israeli law anyway, so they cannot lose rights they do not have. In other words, a husband whose wife dies will be entitled to maintenance from her estate unless he remarries.

Is a common-law wife ( a female cohabitee) entitled to maintenance from the estate?

Yes, if they lived together in a common household and neither of them was married to someone else when the common-law husband died, then she will be entitled to maintenance from his estate.

Is a child born to the deceased after his death entitled to maintenance from his estate?

Yes.

Is a child whom the deceased adopted during his lifetime entitled to maintenance from the estate?
Yes.

Is a child who was "adopted" by the deceased, but whose adoption was not legal, entitled to inheritance from his estate?

Yes.

Is a grandchild of the deceased entitled to maintenance from the estate?

Yes, a grandchild whom the deceased supported or helped support on the eve of his death, and whose parents are unable to support him, will be entitled to maintenance from his estate.