Israeli Court Rejects Husband's Claim to Share Wife's Multi-Million Shekel Inheritance and Pension
A man whose estranged wife inherited tens of millions of shekels sought a court ruling to allocate the couple's assets disproportionately in his favor, but his claims were dismissed by both the family court and the district court. The couple separated in 2018 after nearly 30 years of marriage. Around that time, the wife received a substantial inheritance from her father, consisting of rights in a luxury building in Tel Aviv valued at approximately 150 million shekels, representing 50% ownership of an 11-apartment property.
The husband filed a claim in the Rishon Lezion family court under Section 8(2) of the Property Relations Law, requesting an unequal division of assets due to the wife's inheritance. The court ruled that the inheritance was an external asset without specific intent for sharing and did not justify deviating from equal division. It also found no evidence of the husband's financial distress to warrant an unequal distribution.
On appeal to the Lod district court, the husband argued he suffered from poor health and had monthly income of only 9,400 shekels from disability benefits and pension, while paying 11,000 shekels in rent. He contrasted this with his estranged wife's monthly rental income of 100,000 shekels from the inherited property plus 21,000 shekels from her job. He requested a 15%-85% division favoring him, preserving his pension rights.
The wife countered that the husband is a wealthy businessman and startup partner with a high standard of living, including above-average rent and overseas vacations. The district court judges upheld the family court's ruling, emphasizing that the inheritance was an external asset not subject to division without specific intent. They also found no proven financial hardship for the husband, noting he owns half of a residence valued at five million shekels and retained hundreds of thousands of shekels after asset balancing.
The court concluded the husband's financial future is secure despite his age and health, and dismissed his appeal, ordering him to pay 10,000 shekels in legal fees. The ruling clarifies that inheritance assets without explicit sharing intent remain excluded from marital property division under Israeli law.
