Family Court Upholds Will Leaving Estate to Nephew, Not Sons

The Family Court in Nof HaGalil recently rejected two brothers’ bid to overturn a probate order validating their father’s will, ruling that his nephew, their cousin, is the sole heir. Judge Itai Carmi said the claim was filed too late and that the sons failed to prove any of their objections.

The deceased had lived abroad with his family for many years. After divorcing his wife and suffering a mental crisis, he returned to Israel with help from his brother-in-law, the nephew’s father. The two supported him for years while his sons had no contact with him. In October 2019, he signed a will leaving everything to the nephew alone, explicitly disinheriting his children because they had severed ties with him and, in his view, showed no interest in his condition, unlike his cousin, who had helped and supported him for 23 years.

After his death in January 2024, a probate order was issued. Only in April 2025 did the sons ask the court to cancel it. They argued their father lacked legal capacity, that the nephew exerted undue influence, and that he was improperly involved in the inheritance process. They said the delay was caused by language barriers, geographic distance, and financial difficulties. The nephew replied that the testator was lucid, that he had not influenced the will, and that the man clearly intended to leave his estate to him because his children had abandoned him.

Judge Carmi dismissed the petition on both procedural and substantive grounds. He noted that the brothers stopped acting before the inheritance registrar and then waited one year and three months after the probate order to file. He rejected their explanations, pointing out that one brother lives in Israel and that their lawyer received replies in English at the time, so any language or distance issues had been addressed. On the merits, he said their claims were more interpretation than evidence, since they were not in contact with the deceased in the years before his death or around the signing of the will. He also relied on a contemporaneous medical certificate confirming the man was competent. The brothers were ordered to pay the nephew 10,000 shekels in costs.