Brother Pays $5,500 After Dropping Inheritance Lawsuit

A brother who contested his late mother's will for nearly a year has been ordered to pay 20,000 shekels (approximately $5,500) in legal costs after withdrawing his opposition. The man had filed legal documents and attended a hearing before announcing his withdrawal just before a final pre-trial hearing. He initially sought to have the case dismissed without any costs.

The opposing party had requested full reimbursement, totaling 44,556 shekels for attorney fees and an additional 1,200 British pounds (about 5,496 shekels) for flights for siblings who traveled from England for the proceedings. The court, however, reduced the cost awarded to the other side, noting that the brother had saved time and resources by withdrawing before the evidence stage. The judge stated that withdrawing a case often indicates it was not justified from the outset, but opted for a lower cost award to avoid further conflict.

The brother claimed he still believed his opposition was legally sound but discovered that assets in Israel had been transferred to England, where a separate will concerning those assets would be handled. He argued it was inappropriate to penalize him for changing his mind. The court was unconvinced, noting his claims were unsubstantiated and lacked evidence regarding the timing of his realization or the alleged transfer of funds.

Regarding the flight costs, the court found merit in the brother's argument that the siblings would have been traveling to Israel anyway for their father's memorial. This point was acknowledged by the opposing party themselves when they previously used the same reasoning to oppose a delay in proceedings. Consequently, the flight costs were removed from the awarded expenses.

This legal battle is part of ongoing inheritance disputes within the family. The same brother is currently involved in a separate proceeding to nullify his father's will. The article references other inheritance cases, including one where a mother's will bequeathing 'the house' to one son led to a dispute over whether it meant the entire building or a single apartment, and another case involving a text message that disqualified a partner from inheriting.