Guardians, Wills and the 10/7 Wakeup Part I

‘What if something tragic like this happens to… us?' – that's a question no parent wants to ask; nor do we.

But the nightmare-events of the #Israelwar that we're living through right now–20 children suddenly without parents!–force us to face the realities of needing to ensure a secure future for our family, as there are so many tragedies that can occur, Heaven forbid. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯? 💓💓

So what exactly happens to a minor in such situations when he or she is, Heaven forbid, bereft of both parents? 💔💔

▪ Who will be appointed as their legal guardian?

▪ More significantly: who will 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 to that question?

▪ And most practical for parents: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁?

Here's how the system works here in Israel:

🔶 The Family Court ('Beit Ha'mishpat La'inyanei Mishpacha') is ultimately the governmental body that makes the decisions regarding appointing guardians for orphaned children. They work closely with the professionals from the Social Services Agency ('Misrad Ha'Revacha') to assess all the factors in the particular situation and clarify who will be the most suitable person/s to serve as the legal guardian/s.

🔶 Some of the main factors here are pretty straightforward: the one and only interest is of course the well being of the minors, and the natural people to look to as caring guardians for orphans are their close family members, whether grandparents, older siblings, uncles & aunts, etc.

🔶 Even if close adult relatives do exist though, they may not be able or willing to take on this huge responsibility, or the powers that be may deem them not fully capable of properly fulfilling it. In such cases, these governmental offices will seek out the next best candidates, who may or may not be blood relatives of the child.

And here the inner-parent-voice will likely be aroused: 'I don't want my children's fate to be decided by some foreign entity who doesn't know them at all!? I know without a doubt, as their parent and true guardian, that XXXX would be the best one to get that role; and I know that it definitely can not be handed to my XXXX! What does the government know about my children and my family??'

I wouldn't blame you for feeling like that. So what can you do to lead the Court to make the right decision on this monumental matter? So that your children will be left with a nurturing, loving environment, with positive role models to look up to, with what you know is truly best for them?

We'll dive into that in the upcoming post--stay tuned! In the meantime, you'll be extra careful to stay safe!

Join our Whatsapp Channel for updates on these and other timely issues relating to the Israel Real Estate scene: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EZ7JsP2Ktky6dUx3SIKmn3