Court Upholds Grandmother's Will Leaving Grandson $2,700 Instead of Apartment

A family court in Haifa has rejected a grandson's challenge to his grandmother's will, which bequeathed him only 10,000 shekels (approximately $2,700). The grandson had sought to uphold an earlier will that would have granted his deceased father, and subsequently himself, an apartment. He argued that his grandmother was incapacitated and unduly influenced when she made the later will.

In September 2013, the grandmother and grandfather executed a mutual will distributing their assets among their five children with varying shares. One son received a shop and three apartments, another received a studio apartment and a rooftop unit, and a third son, who later passed away, was designated an apartment. The grandson challenging the current will is the sole heir of this deceased son.

In June 2023, after her husband and son had died, the grandmother created a new will. This revised testament granted an additional apartment to the son who had initially received a shop and three apartments. The grandson, however, was allocated only 10,000 shekels, not an apartment as his father would have received. The will stated this sum was a "memento" due to the grandson's lack of contact and interest in his grandparents' well-being.

The grandson claimed his grandmother lacked the capacity to make the second will and was subject to undue influence from her other children. He argued the first will was a "religious mutual will" to be interpreted according to Jewish law, transferring ownership during her lifetime. Attorneys for the four uncles countered that the earlier will was not truly mutual and that their mother was free to change it at any time, as she did.

Judge Hila Gurevich Ovadyah acknowledged the first will was mutual but recognized the grandmother's right to amend it due to a clause allowing her to revoke "any or all clauses of this deed," including through "another, legal and binding deed of will." The court dismissed the grandson's attempt to circumvent inheritance law prohibiting lifetime gifts intended for post-death distribution. The judge found no evidence of undue influence or incapacity, citing a video of the signing showing the grandmother was lucid and explained her wishes clearly. The notary's testimony also supported the grandmother's mental state, stating she appeared perfectly fine. Consequently, the court upheld the later will and dismissed the grandson's objection.