Court Rules Against Son Claiming Parental Bank Account as Gift

A family court in Tel Aviv has rejected a son's claim that his inclusion on his parents' bank account, which holds millions of shekels, constituted a gift. The dispute arose among three brothers over the ownership of their deceased parents' bank account. The father, a businessman who accumulated significant assets including properties and art, had added one son as a joint account holder shortly before the mother's death, at a time when the father's cognitive state was reportedly declining.

The son in question argued that his addition to the account was a gift intended to compensate him for past perceived injustices and favoritism shown to his siblings. He also claimed his mother intended for him to have the funds and that his father understood the implications of adding him to the account.

His two brothers contested this, asserting that the son was added solely for convenience to help manage their parents' affairs. They explained that their mother feared her accounts might be frozen if she passed away before her husband, preventing him from accessing funds needed for his care.

Judge Segalit Ofek ruled that the parents' intention in adding the son was not to grant him ownership of the funds. The judge stated, "I am convinced that the defendant is well aware that he did not receive an immediate gift and is trying to attribute a retroactive proprietary meaning to his addition to the account, rather than one that reflects the purpose behind it at the time."

The court determined that the bank account and its contents belong to the father's estate. The judge ordered the son to return all funds he withdrew from the account, including any made via credit cards for non-father-related expenses. The son was also ordered to pay 50,000 shekels in legal costs.