Financial Agreements between Spouses

In Israel many spouses to not have financial agreements. Many couples assume that any assets that they acquire during marriage are joint assets. This not necessarily true.

The law allows couples do make any financial agreement that they decide to make. The law stipulates that the agreement must be In writing and it must be certified. The certification process depends on when the agreement is made and signed. Prior to the marriage the couple can appear in front of a Notary and sign the document and have it certified. The couple can also have the agreement certified before the the marriage registrar. These options are not available after the marriage. The couple after the marriage must appear before a judge of the family court or a religious court in order to certify the financial agreement.

In the absence of a financial agreement chapter 3 of the Law of Financial Relations between Couples will take effect. The law recognizes the fact that during the marriage each party has the sole ownership of his/and her property and the assets acquired during the marriage are not joint property .Of course if the couple bought an asset together and registered the property as joint property as is usual in the case when a couple purchases a home the property will be joint property. On the dissolution of the marriage or a breakdown in the marriage as defined in the law the assets acquired by each spouse during the marriage must be balanced, with the assets of the other spouse. This means in principal that each party to the marriage should have assets equal in value to the other party when the marriage is dissolved or breaks down. The court has the authority to determine how the balancing (איזון) should take place.

The assets to be balanced include pensions social and social benefits. The court may also take into account the earning potential of a spouse if it was acquired during the marriage. Although in principal the assets should be equalized the court in special situations has the right to balance the assets not equally. The issue is often complicated and often leads to endless litigation.

Couples would be wise to seek legal counsel and sign financial agreements which conform with their wishes , and not leave the matter to the courts to decide in the event of the dissolution or break down of the marriage.

The Right to Travel Abroad

Israeli basic law which has been held to be constitutional states that all persons in Israel may leave the country either permanently or for a trip abroad. In spite of the constitutional right to leave the country Israeli courts routinely issue orders to prohibit a person from going abroad. These orders are usually issued ex parte without a full hearing. The courts will issue such orders in order to insure that a parent usually a father will not leave Israel without providing guarantees that he will return, and continue to support his children and sometimes even his wife.
The order is issued by a registrar who usually will order a full hearing to hear all sides, whithin a short time after the order is issued.In a global economy there is always a danger that these orders will be abused and cause damage as many people travel abroad on business.
Nevertheless the courts have ruled that in balancing the various rights and interests of all the concerned parties these orders are necessary. The Rabbinical courts will also issue such orders to prevent a woman from being abandoned by her husband a situation which may leave her an Aguna.

Joint Parenthood Joint custody

Should the general rule be as it is today, the mother gets custody of the children, the father pays child support and only gets visitation rights? Many judges and even more social workers believe that this is how it should be.The issue is currently being discussed and the ministry of Justice has set up a committee to study the matter. It is clear that was common in the past need not continue.Children need both parents, equally and the law and the courts will need to move with the times and adopt a new approach to the issues of child custody.