Israeli Supreme Court Rules Father Cannot Revoke Land Sale Made by Son Despite Financing Purchase

A family dispute over a 1,500-square-meter land parcel financed entirely by a father but registered in his son's name reached the Israeli Supreme Court. The son sold the land to a third party for 200,000 shekels, prompting the father to sue both his son and the buyer to cancel the sale and the related legal notice. The father claimed he was the true owner and that the registration in his son's name was merely a form of trust, denying the son had the right to sell the property. He argued the transaction was not a gift but intended to provide his children with a "good feeling." The son, represented by attorney Azmi Younes Nasar, maintained the land was a gift, while the buyer, represented by attorney Marou Halo Ali, asserted he purchased the land in good faith and for fair value.

The Supreme Court rejected the father's appeal, emphasizing the legal presumption in parent-child transactions that the property is a gift unless proven otherwise. The court noted that in typical financing arrangements between unrelated parties, the registered owner is considered a trustee, but in familial contexts, the law assumes the parent intended to gift the property outright. The father bore a heavy burden of proof to show otherwise, which he failed to meet, especially since he provided extensive financial support to all his children. The court upheld the lower court's ruling that the father intended to gift the land to his son.

Consequently, the father's claim was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay 10,000 shekels in legal costs to the son and the buyer. The ruling was delivered by Justices Alex Stein, David Mintz, and Yael Wilner. Attorney Marou Halo Ali commented that the decision strengthens the legal certainty of land registration and protects third parties acting in good faith. The father's attorney criticized the ruling as unjust and inconsistent, arguing it raises unresolved questions about family property transactions and the valuation of the land sold at a fraction of its market value.