What is a will made before a judicial authority?
This is a will which the testator tells orally to a judge, court registrar, Inheritance Registrar or the rabbinical court.
Can a will before a judicial authority be submitted in written form?
Yes – it is possible to submit a written will before a judge, court registrar, Inheritance Registrar or the rabbinical court.
Can a will be made before a notary?
Yes, in which case the will is legally regarded as having been made before a judge.
Can a testator dictate his will over the phone to a notary ?
Yes, and then sign a written will prepared by the notary in his/her office
according to these phone instructions
Does a written will submitted to court have to be in the testator's own handwriting?
No ! It can be physically written by someone else according to the testator's instructions, but it must be signed by the testator.
Is a notary legally obliged to check the legal capacity of someone wishing to make a will before him?
Yes ! A notary must check whether the testator makes the will of his own free will, and with full understanding of its contents, and their consequences of the act of making the will.
How can one guarantee that a will made for someone blind, deaf or who is unable to speak is properly understood by them?
Where a person who is blind, deaf or cannot speak wishes to make a will, he/she can do so before a notary, who has a legal obligation to state in writing how the testator with these handicap/s was able to express him/herself and pass on the contents of the will, and how he/she understood the consequences of his will, and was relayed it so that he/she could confirm/check its contents.
Is a will made orally before a rabbi legally binding ?
If a will is made orally in connection with the rabbi's role as a rabbinical judge at the rabbinical court then the things said can be regarded as a will. However, if the things are said to a rabbi who is not a rabbinical judge at the rabbinical court then what is said to him cannot be regarded as a valid will.
Can the drafting of a dedication bond before the rabbinical court be regarded as complying with the legal requirements of a will made before an authority?
Yes, provided that the person who signed the bond at the rabbinical court declared his/her wishes or intentions there.
What are the obligations of a legal authority when someone makes a will before it?
The legal authority before which the person makes his/her will must write the instructions down as told to them orally by the testator , or submitted by him. It is under a legal obligation to read what has been written back to the testator, who has to declare to the authority that this is his will. This must then be confirmed by the legal authority on the will itself where it must be stated that it was read aloud to the testator and he declared that it was his/her will.
What is the legal position when a will was drafted before the court, but it is not stated overleaf that it was read to the testator?
Although this a fault, the will can be declared valid if the court has no doubt as to genuineness of the will and that it was made by the testator and reflects his wishes.
Can a will be made through a notary if the testator is in hospital or bedridden and unable to get to his office ?
Yes, provided that prior to the drafting of the will the notary is shown a medical certificate attesting to the testator's medical condition on the day the will is made.
Is it still necessary to present a notary with a medical certificate even if the testator leaves hospital and goes to the notary's office to make the will, and then returns to hospital?
Yes , if the testator leaves the hospital just to travel to the notary's office to make the will, and is not discharged from the hospital, but leaves temporarily.
What is the procedure when the testator makes a will before an authority and it is written in a language other than his or her own ?
It must be translated to the testator in his own language and the translator must authorize that this has been done on the will itself.
Can a will made before an authority be deposited with the Inheritance Registrar?
Yes.
What legal validity does a will made before a judicial authority have in relation to other forms of will ?
Equal validity.
Does a testator who makes a will before a judicial authority actually have to sign it ?
No !
Can a person make a will by saying things before the Guardian Guardian ?
No, the General Guardian is not listed among the options for making a will before a judicial authority which appear in the Inheritance Law of 1965.
Can plans which someone tells a rabbinical court judge within the framework of a passing social conversation count as a will before a judicial authority ?
No ! Disclosing or relating one's estate planning to a rabbinical court judge does not count as a will before a judicial authority as the information is passed within a social context.
Is a will made up advice given by the community's rabbi regarded as a will made before a judicial authority ?
No , even if he is also a rabbinical court judge, because the will must be made within the rabbi's position and duty at the rabbinate , and not within the framework of his role as a community rabbi, or any other public role he may have.
Can a person make a will before a religious judge of the Christian faith ?
Yes, this will count as a will before a judicial authority, if made by a religious judge of a Christian faith recognized in Israel.
How is an oral will made before a judicial authority ?
The judicial authority will write down what the testator tells him orally.
He will then read back what has been written down. The testator will confirm it orally, correcting if necessary. The testator will then declare that this is his will,and the legal authority will confirm this , by recording on the will that the testator declared to him that what was read to him was his will.
Does a testator making a will before a judicial authority have to write anything ?
No ! All the instructions are made orally by the testator and he merely confirms them when they are read back to him, after having been recorded. The judicial authority does all the written work.
Is any signature needed at all on a will made before a judicial authority ?
No ! The testator is not required to sign, and nor is the judicial authority. The latter is merely required by the Inheritance Law of 1965 to confirm on the will that it was read to the testator who then declared that it was his will .
What signifies the finality of the testator's decision-making process regarding his will, where it is made before a judicial authority, and he does not sign the document himself?
The authorization by the judicial authority that the testator declared that what was read to him was his will denotes the finality of the testator's decision making, in the absence of his signature.
Who is responsible for dating a will before a legal authority , the testator or the person before whom it is made ?
The person before whom the testator makes his will. He must fill in the place and date where the will was given, and not the testator , who is not required to do this.
Is there any preliminary process necessary before one can make a will before a legal authority ?
Yes ! One must make a written application, and state whether one wishes to make the will orally, or in writing.
What duties is a legal authority required to perform concerning the will ?
The legal authority must make a written protocol of the hearing in which the manner in which the will was given is recorded, and put this in the court file, together with the will, and the testator's declaration that he made it of his own free will.
Does a will before a legal authority have to be made in the judge's court room or in the offices of the Inheritance Registrar ?
No ! The Inheritance Law of 1965 does not state anything about the venue for making a will before a legal authority, only referring to the process itself.
Could what a deceased person says while testifying in court be recognized as a will before a legal authority ?
No ! While the person is on the witness stand, during any form of questioning, whatever he says does not say anything about him deciding to make a will before a legal authority, and therefore cannot be viewed as such.
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