Avrum Aaron & Assoc.

02/03/2026

If I Made a Will in the U.S., Do I Need a New Israeli Will When I Move to Israel?

This is a question many people ask after relocating to Israel: if you already signed a will in the United States, do you really need to make a new Israeli will? The short answer is often yes, but not because your U.S. will suddenly becomes invalid.

Israeli law generally recognizes wills that were properly executed in the United States. In other words, moving to Israel does not automatically cancel or void a U.S. will. From a purely technical standpoint, a valid U.S. will can usually be admitted to probate in Israel.

The problem is that legal recognition is not the same as practical usability. U.S. wills are drafted around U.S. probate concepts, terminology, and procedures. Israeli succession law works differently, and Israeli courts, banks, and land registries often require translations, expert opinions on U.S. law, and additional procedural steps before they are willing to act on a foreign will. This can slow things down and increase costs for heirs at exactly the wrong time.

Once you become an Israeli resident, the issue becomes more pronounced if you own Israeli assets. Israeli real estate, local bank accounts, or guardianship provisions for minor children are usually far easier to administer under an Israeli-law will that speaks the local legal language. In these situations, relying exclusively on a U.S. will is often inefficient, even if it remains technically valid.

The option of a U.S. trust is what I often recommend. When U.S. assets are held in a properly structured U.S. trust, those assets generally avoid probate altogether and do not need to be addressed by an Israeli will. In practice, this allows the Israeli will to remain focused on local assets and local issues, while the trust governs U.S. property under U.S. law. The trust does not replace the Israeli will; it simply reduces how much the Israeli will needs to cover.

The most common and dangerous mistake in this area is poor coordination. An Israeli will that is drafted without awareness of an existing U.S. will or trust can accidentally revoke prior documents or create conflicts that defeat the very planning it was meant to improve. This risk is far higher with generic templates or off-the-shelf wills that are not designed for cross-border estates.

The bottom line is that a U.S. will usually remains valid after a move to Israel, but validity alone is not the right standard. For many Israeli residents, a short review leads to a cleaner structure: a U.S. trust that continue to handle U.S. assets, and a focused Israeli will that simplifies matters at home. When done correctly, the result is not more paperwork, but less confusion for the people left behind.

Adv. Avrum Aaron, Esq.
[email protected]
054-398-4380

01/26/2026

What Happens If You Die in Israel Without a Will?

Many people assume that if they pass away without a will, their assets will automatically go to their spouse or children and everything will be handled smoothly. In Israel, that assumption is often wrong.

Dying without a will — known legally as dying intestate — triggers a statutory distribution scheme under Israel’s Succession Law. That scheme may produce results very different from what you intended, and it can create serious legal and tax complications.

How Israeli Law Distributes an Estate Without a Will

If a person dies in Israel without a valid will, the estate is distributed according to fixed rules in the Succession Law:

If there is a surviving spouse and children, the spouse receives part of the estate and the children receive the rest. The spouse does not automatically inherit everything.

If there is a spouse but no children, the spouse shares the estate with the deceased’s parents, siblings, or their descendants.

If there is no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and more distant relatives in a strict statutory order.

If no legal heirs are found, the estate ultimately passes to the State of Israel.

These rules apply regardless of the personal relationships involved, regardless of who depended on whom financially, and regardless of what the deceased may have verbally promised during life.

The Surviving Spouse Is Not Fully Protected

One of the most common surprises is that a surviving spouse does not automatically inherit the entire estate.
In many cases, the spouse receives only part of the estate and must co-own property with the children or with the deceased’s family. This can force the sale of the family home, create disputes over bank accounts, or entangle the spouse in years of administration and litigation.
For blended families, second marriages, or families with children from prior relationships, the results can be especially harsh.

Administration Is Slower and More Expensive

When there is no will, the heirs must apply for a Succession Order (צו ירושה) rather than a Probate Order. This requires identifying all legal heirs, publishing notices, collecting affidavits, and often dealing with objections from extended family members.
The process is typically slower, more bureaucratic, and more prone to disputes than probating a properly drafted will.

Cross-Border Families Face Additional Risks

For Israeli residents with U.S., European, or other foreign assets — or foreign citizenship — intestacy creates serious cross-border problems.
Foreign courts and financial institutions may not recognize Israeli intestacy orders easily. Different countries may apply different inheritance laws. The result can be parallel proceedings, conflicting heirship determinations, delayed access to assets, and unnecessary taxation.
In U.S.–Israel families, intestacy can also trigger adverse U.S. estate tax and income tax consequences that could have been avoided with basic planning.

A Simple Will Avoids Most of These Problems

A properly drafted Israeli will:
Allows you to decide exactly who inherits and in what proportions
Protects the surviving spouse
Prevents unwanted co-ownership
Reduces family conflict
Speeds up administration
Coordinates Israeli and foreign assets
Allows tax-efficient planning
For families with international connections, a coordinated Israeli will together with appropriate foreign planning (such as U.S. trusts) is often essential.

Conclusion

Dying without a will in Israel does not mean “everything goes to the family.” It means the law — not you — decides who inherits, how much, and on what terms.
For many families, especially those with cross-border assets or complex family structures, intestacy creates unnecessary conflict, delay, and financial loss.
A simple will, prepared correctly, is one of the most effective legal protections you can give your family.

Adv. Avrum Aaron, Esq.
[email protected]
054-398-4380

01/13/2026

Why Two Wills Aren’t the Answer

Israeli residents who own assets in the United States are frequently advised to prepare two wills: one Israeli will to deal with assets in Israel, and a separate U.S. will to deal with assets located in the United States. On the surface, this sounds like a sensible and orderly solution. In practice, however, relying on wills alone often creates unnecessary risk, delay, and confusion when U.S. assets are involved.

A structure that is more effective is an Israeli will for Israeli assets, combined with a properly structured U.S. trust for U.S. assets. This approach aligns far better with how U.S. institutions operate and how cross-border estates actually unfold after death.

A fundamental limitation of any will is that it only operates after death and only through a probate process. Whether probate occurs in Israel or the United States, it involves court supervision, formal appointments, documentation, and time. A trust, by contrast, owns the assets during lifetime and continues seamlessly after death. There is no court involvement, no waiting period, and no interruption in management. For U.S. banks, brokerage firms, and title companies, trusts are familiar tools. Foreign probate orders are not.

When U.S. assets pass under a will, beneficiaries often encounter immediate practical problems. Accounts may be frozen. Institutions may demand certified translations, apostilles, and court orders. In many cases, heirs are forced into ancillary probate proceedings in one or more U.S. states, even though the decedent was not a U.S. resident. These processes are slow, costly, and deeply frustrating for families trying to access funds or manage property. A U.S. trust eliminates these obstacles entirely, because the trust,not the deceased individual, is the legal owner of the assets.

Another common and underappreciated risk of the dual-will approach is accidental revocation. Standard wills often include broad language revoking all prior wills. If an Israeli will is signed after a U.S. will and contains similar language, it may unintentionally revoke the U.S. will or create ambiguity about which document controls. This can lead to litigation or judicial interpretation at precisely the moment when clarity is most needed. A trust avoids this problem altogether, because it does not compete with a will for control. It operates independently of the testamentary system.

Trusts also provide continuity and control that wills simply cannot. A trust can hold assets for children, manage distributions over time, avoid forced liquidation, and maintain consistent administration across generations. A will, by its nature, distributes assets and then ends. For families with cross-border complexity, that simplicity often becomes a weakness rather than a strength.

The most effective planning separates roles cleanly. An Israeli will governs Israeli assets and interfaces smoothly with Israeli inheritance procedures, under Israeli law and in Hebrew. A U.S. trust holds U.S. real estate and financial accounts, avoids U.S. probate entirely, and is immediately recognized by U.S. institutions. Each document does what it does best, without overlap or conflict.

The real question is not whether Israeli residents can have two wills. It is whether relying on wills alone is the best way to deal with U.S. assets. And, it is not. For Israeli residents with U.S. real estate, brokerage accounts, or other U.S. situs assets, an Israeli will combined with a U.S. trust is cleaner, faster, safer, and far more predictable for heirs. Proper coordination is essential, but when done correctly, this structure avoids many of the hidden traps that dual-will planning leaves behind.

Avrum Aaron
054-398-4380
[email protected]

We specialize in providing high-quality legal services to businesses of all sizes. Our team of experienced attorneys has decades of experience in commercial law, helping businesses navigate complex legal issues and achieve their goals.

01/07/2026

U.S. Estate Tax Issues When One Spouse Is Not a U.S. Citizen

Many Israeli-resident couples with U.S. connections assume that U.S. estate tax is not a concern because their assets are modest in size and held jointly. That assumption is often incorrect when one spouse is a U.S. citizen and the other is not.
Even with joint ownership and even where total assets are $150,000 or more, U.S. estate tax issues can arise and must be addressed during estate administration.
Joint ownership is commonly used by spouses to simplify inheritance. Under U.S. estate tax law, however, joint ownership does not override the special rules that apply when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen.
When assets are held jointly with a non-U.S. citizen spouse, the U.S. tax system does not automatically treat the transfer at death as tax-free, even though the property passes by operation of law.

If the Non-U.S. Citizen Spouse Dies First

For Israeli-resident couples, it is common for U.S. real estate or U.S. investment accounts to be titled jointly. When the non-U.S. citizen spouse dies first, the portion of the jointly held U.S. assets attributable to that spouse may be subject to U.S. estate tax.
The fact that the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen and already owns the assets jointly does not eliminate the issue. U.S. estate tax looks to ownership and citizenship, not convenience or intent.
Example:
An Israeli-resident couple holds a U.S. brokerage account jointly, valued at approximately $150,000. The non-U.S. citizen spouse dies first. The death can trigger U.S. estate tax reporting and potential tax exposure with respect to the deceased spouse’s portion of the account.
Whereas the US spouse is not taxable on the first $15 million of assets held at death, the non-US spouse is taxable after the first $60,000 of US assets. In this case, the assets will be divided into two and the non-US citizen spouse will pay tax on $15,000 (1/2 of $150,000, minus the $60k exemption). Perhaps that isn’t so bad but increase the amount and watch the tax grow!

If the U.S. Citizen Spouse Dies First

The issue also arises when the U.S. citizen spouse dies first.
Even though the assets are held jointly and pass automatically to the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse’s status as a non-U.S. citizen creates a problem for the surviving spouse that needs to be addressed. If he or she dies without any change to the assets, the charge on the estate could be as high as 40% (minus the modest $60k deduction).

The Practical Reality for Israeli Residents

For Israeli-resident families, these issues are often discovered late—after a death—when U.S. banks, brokers, or title companies request U.S. tax clearance before releasing or re-registering assets. At that stage, the focus shifts from planning to compliance and damage control.
The key point is that joint ownership and modest asset values do not eliminate U.S. estate tax exposure when one spouse is not a U.S. citizen. It’s best to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

Avrum Aaron
[email protected]
054-398-4380

We specialize in providing high-quality legal services to businesses of all sizes. Our team of experienced attorneys has decades of experience in commercial law, helping businesses navigate complex legal issues and achieve their goals.

12/28/2025

Why a Trust Is Superior to a U.S. Will for Israeli Residents with U.S. Assets

Israeli residents who own property or other assets in the United States are often advised to sign a U.S. will. While a will is better than no planning at all, it is rarely the optimal solution and frequently creates unnecessary delay, expense, and administrative complexity for heirs.

A U.S. will almost always requires probate in the United States. Even when there is an Israeli probate order and even when the heirs are cooperative, U.S. courts typically require a separate local probate proceeding for U.S.-situs assets. This process is public, slow, and costly, and it often requires Israeli heirs to interact with unfamiliar courts, lawyers, and institutions.

A properly structured trust avoids this problem. Assets held in trust pass outside of probate, allowing the trustee to manage or distribute them immediately without court involvement. This is particularly important for Israeli families, where beneficiaries and executors are usually located outside the United States and face practical difficulties dealing with U.S. probate systems.

A trust is also superior during the owner’s lifetime. A will has no effect while the owner is alive and offers no protection in the event of incapacity. A trust, by contrast, allows continued management of U.S. assets without interruption and without the need for U.S. guardianship proceedings if the owner becomes incapacitated while living in Israel.

From a tax perspective, trusts allow advance planning that is simply not available through a will. Israeli residents who are not U.S. citizens receive only a minimal U.S. estate tax exemption. Once death occurs, planning options are extremely limited. A trust allows estate tax strategies to be implemented in advance, when flexibility still exists.

Finally, trusts provide privacy and control. A U.S. will becomes part of the public court record, exposing asset values and family arrangements. Trusts operate privately and can be tailored to protect beneficiaries, manage distributions over time, and coordinate cleanly with Israeli estate planning.

For Israeli residents with meaningful U.S. assets, a trust is usually faster, more efficient, more private, and far easier for heirs to administer than a U.S. will. A will may appear simpler at the outset, but in cross-border situations it often shifts complexity and cost to the next generation.

Avrum Aaron, Esq.
054-398-4380
[email protected]

12/09/2025

Why Israelis With U.S. Financial Assets Need a U.S. Trust — Before It’s Too Late

For many Israelis, investing in the United States is almost routine. Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement plans, life-insurance-based investments, or partnership interests in U.S. funds are common parts of a diversified portfolio.

But one issue is frequently ignored until it becomes a very real—and very expensive—problem: what happens to those assets when the owner dies.

If you live in Israel and own only U.S. financial assets—no real estate, no business—you might think the transfer to your heirs will be simple. Unfortunately, it’s usually not. In fact, your family may end up trapped in a legal maze involving two countries, two court systems, and months (sometimes years) of delay.

This is exactly why many Israelis choose to place their U.S. assets into a properly structured U.S. trust. Here’s why.

1. The Core Problem: Getting Jurisdiction for Probate

When a person dies owning U.S. financial assets in their own name, the financial institution will freeze the accounts until they receive valid probate documents.

But here’s the trap:

Israeli probate orders are not automatically accepted by U.S. institutions.

Each U.S. brokerage firm, bank, or fund must decide whether an Israeli court order is sufficient under its internal compliance rules. Many simply say no.

Why?

Because probate jurisdiction in the U.S. is determined by the courts of the state where the deceased was:
- domiciled, or
- owned property, or
- had assets requiring an in-state probate process.

If you live in Israel, you are not domiciled in any U.S. state—and you usually have no physical presence there. As a result:

No U.S. court automatically has jurisdiction over your U.S. financial assets.

So your heirs must often try to open a “foreign ancillary probate” in a U.S. state that the financial institution chooses—sometimes New York, sometimes Delaware, sometimes wherever the company’s headquarters are.

That creates a chain reaction of problems:
- Hiring U.S. counsel
- Providing notarized and apostilled documents
- Producing original wills
- Complying with foreign-probate procedures
- Months of delay before assets can be transferred

I regularly see heirs stuck with 6–18 months of administrative work simply to access a brokerage account.

2. U.S. Trusts Eliminate the Jurisdiction Problem Entirely

When U.S. financial assets are held in a revocable U.S. trust (a “living trust”):
- The trust, not the individual, owns the account.
- On death, the trust does not go through U.S. probate.
- The successor trustee can access and distribute assets immediately.

No court.
No probate.
No Israeli-U.S. legal conflict.

The financial institution deals directly with the trustee under standard U.S. trust rules. This removes the entire question of “which court has jurisdiction?” because no court needs jurisdiction.

3. What About Tax?

For Israelis, a properly drafted U.S. revocable trust is:
- Ignored for U.S. income tax (you report income as before)
- Ignored for Israeli income tax (same reporting as before)
- Not a gift when funded
- Not taxable to beneficiaries on distribution

A trust designed correctly for a non-U.S. resident avoids estate tax problems as well.

4. Additional Benefits Beyond Probate

Once your U.S. assets are in a trust, you also get:

Privacy
Probate filings (even in Israel) are public. A trust is not.

Continuity
If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee can manage U.S. accounts immediately—no guardianship applications.

Clear instructions
You control exactly who receives your U.S. assets, when, and under what conditions.

Lower legal costs
The cost of creating a U.S. trust is far lower than hiring U.S. and Israeli lawyers later to navigate multi-jurisdiction probate.

5. The Bottom Line

If you live in Israel and have even modest U.S. financial assets, you are exposed to a very specific legal problem: no U.S. court has obvious jurisdiction to probate those accounts when you die.

A revocable U.S. trust eliminates that risk, giving your family immediate access without legal battles, delays, or uncertainty.

Most Israelis don’t realize this until someone in their community dies and the heirs spend a year fighting to unlock a frozen U.S. account.

Setting up a trust is simple, inexpensive, and completely customizable. And it ensures that your U.S. investments pass to your family smoothly and privately—exactly the way you intended.

Avrum Aaron
054 398-4380
[email protected]

Law Firm for Entrepreneurs

12/02/2025

Why TOD/POD Designations Often Fail and Why People Use Trusts Instead

Last week, I posted on the use of trusts to avoid US probate. I received the following question on Facebook from Na Hauser: Do u need to go to probate and a will if u sign a TOD with the investment company?

Great Question!

Here are some reasons why a Trust works better than a TOD:

1. TODs Do Not Handle Incapacity
A TOD only transfers property after death. If the owner becomes incapacitated, a TOD does nothing. The account may become frozen, and a court-appointed guardian might be required. A revocable trust allows a successor trustee to step in immediately without court intervention.

2. TODs Cause Problems If Beneficiaries Die Out of Order
If a beneficiary dies before the owner and the designation is not updated, the share may lapse. Many TOD forms do not handle per-stirpes distributions properly. (Note: Per Stirpes means that each family branch gets its share: if a child dies before you, that child’s share goes to their children, not to your other children. It keeps the inheritance within each branch of the family) Trusts handle these contingencies cleanly.

3. TODs Cannot Manage Minor Beneficiaries
A TOD to a minor is ineffective because banks will not release funds to a minor. This triggers guardianship proceedings and ongoing court supervision. A trust avoids these issues and allows structured distributions.

4. TODs Do Not Protect Beneficiaries
A TOD gives assets directly to a beneficiary with no protection from divorce, creditors, or mismanagement. Trusts can provide these protections.

5. TODs Create Problems With Real Property
TOD deeds can create issues with title insurance, refinancing, and disagreements among beneficiaries. Some states do not even permit TOD deeds for real property. Trusts avoid these complications.

6. TODs Cannot Coordinate Multiple Assets or Complex Wishes
TODs only control specific accounts or assets. They cannot coordinate entire estates, manage taxes, or implement long-term planning. A trust centralizes everything.

7. TODs Complicate Cross-Border or Non-U.S. Heirs
Foreign heirs or heirs living in Israel may face additional documentation requirements or delays. A trust consolidates control with a U.S. trustee who can manage everything smoothly.

8. TODs Can Trigger Probate Anyway
Beneficiary deaths, missing paperwork, or institutional errors can invalidate TODs and force probate. Trusts avoid this fragility.

Bottom Line
Revocable trusts handle incapacity, avoid probate reliably, protect children, prevent disputes, and work across jurisdictions. TODs are suitable only for simple situations, while trusts offer a robust estate-planning solution.

10/23/2019

One area of law that has been majorly impacted by the internet is trademarks. Before everyone was on line, a trademark holder would only know of an infringement if they saw the mark in a newspaper or on a sign- not a likely occurrence if the simple search will produce many users (legal and illegal) of the mark worldwide.

08/28/2019

One frustrating part of practicing law is when you are 100% right about something and your opposing counsel won't admit it because he/she has to pretend to believe his/her lying client.

07/30/2019

Here’s a story that illustrates why you should consult a lawyer before starting a business:

I was contacted by man who owned an LLC formed in the US. He wasn’t a US citizen or resident, but he had recently had a levy put in his bank account by the State of California- for $60,000!

This was curious because other than his bank being in California, the business had no contact with California. I reviewed his federal tax returns and saw that he had given the IRS a California address. He did this because a relative lived there and his US bank needed a US address. So, he used the same address on his tax return.

Somehow California saw this address and assumed that the business was located in California. It wasn’t and the situation was cleared up quickly. But, this was unneeded stress- someone who knows the tax system would have simply advised the client to put his foreign address on his federal tax return and this situation would have been avoided.

Moral of the Story: Making a small mistake, like entering the wrong address, can be painful.