Jerusalem Court Awards Woman Half of Husband’s Penthouse Despite Prenuptial Agreement

The Jerusalem Family Court recently ruled that a woman is entitled to half of her ex-husband’s penthouse apartment, despite a prenuptial agreement that stipulated separate property. Judge Moshe Brown was convinced that the husband deliberately concealed the property. The couple married in the early 2000s and signed a comprehensive prenuptial agreement approved by the court in March 2018, which did not detail their assets except for two companies each owned by them. About a year later, they separated, and in July 2019, the woman filed to annul the agreement.

She claimed her ex-husband hid the penthouse in Jerusalem, valued between 3.5 and 4.5 million shekels, asserting she had evidence that he purchased it from his parents rather than receiving it as a gift, as he claimed. The husband maintained he received the apartment as a gift and admitted he did not disclose it before the separation, explaining that his parents asked him to keep it secret to avoid family upheaval.

Judge Brown explained that the husband’s admission shifted the burden of proof to him to prove the gift claim, which he failed to do. The court ruled that since the asset was not mentioned in the prenuptial agreement, there was no waiver of rights. Attorney Michael Ben Lulu emphasized that general waiver clauses do not apply to significant assets concealed or unknown at the time of signing. The judge based his decision partly on the husband’s suspicious choice not to call key witnesses, including his parents and the lawyer who allegedly drafted the gift agreement. Recordings submitted to the court revealed the husband and his father admitting the transaction was a sale, not a gift.

The judge questioned why the parents would gift their only apartment to one child while living in rented housing and having 12 children. No evidence was presented of family turmoil upon revealing the secret, suggesting the husband’s version was false. Consequently, the penthouse was included in the asset division, and the husband must pay his ex-wife half its value plus linkage differentials and interest since the agreement. He was also ordered to pay 40,000 shekels in legal fees and expenses to the woman’s side.