Unmarried couples who live together

In Israel there are many couples who live together but do not get married. There are many reasons why couples choose not to get married. Marriage is Israel is possible only by a religious ceremony, there is no civil marriage. There are people who can not marry in a religious ceremony, for example a Jew cannot marry a non Jew in a religious ceremony and in the absence of civil marriage in Israel there is no way for them to be married. There are people who do not wish to marry in a religious ceremony be cause if one of the parties wishes to end the relationship with a divorce it is very difficult to get a divorce if both parties do not agree to a divorce.There are also couples who prefer not to marry because often marriage may cause one of the couples to receive lower social benefits.
Many couples are not aware of the fact that the so called informal staus of living together without marriage may cause serious legal implications. One example is para. 55 of the law of inheritance that states that in the absence of a will a couple who live together and meet the criterion of the law are deemed to have made a will which leaves the surviving spouse the share of the estate that he or she would have been entitled to if they were married.
The courts have ruled that couples who live together with a common household and have no formal agreement on the their financial relationship , it is assumed that they have chosen the regime of joint ownership of all property aquired during the period of the relationship in spite of the fact that the property may be registered on the name of only one of the parties to the relationship.

The child is not mine why do I have to support him?

Modern medical science has made it possible to determine the paternity of children.The process of tissue testing allows for genetic analysis and a 99% accuracy rate on the paternity of a child.
In spite of the accuracy of the test courts in Israel both the secular Family court and the religious Rabbinical court often will not allow the test. The reason for the reluctance to compel the test is that the results may prove that the father of the child is not the husband of the mother. In the case of a married Jewish woman,if she engaged in sex with a man other than her husband and had a child from the relationship the child under Jewish Law is a Mamzer(bastard) and will be prohibited from marrying a kosher Jewish spouse.
The courts and the law are not interested in this outcome and therefore in the case of a married woman the courts will not allow genetic testing because the outcome could damage the future of the child.
In one case whichI had in the Rabbinical court in Netanya I petitioned the court to compel a medical examination to determine if my client is the father of the child. I argued Science can provide the answer. The court refused to order the test . My clients cry that if the child is not his why does he have to support him was of no avail.The court required him to pay child support .

Inequality in Child Support

Jewish religious law (MISHPAT IVRI) requires only the father to support his children, the mother is exempt. This rule applies in the secular Family Affairs court as well as the Religious Rabbinical court. This rule has been interpeted to apply only to the basic needs of the child, support for needs which are not considered to be basic are the responsibility of both parents if they can afford to provide non basic need to their children .
This rule violates Israel constitutional principle of the equality of all citizens regardless of their sex or religion.
The rule does not apply to persons who have no religious status. In such cases when a person has no personal religious status he has no personal law and the law that determines his responsibility for child support is para. 3 of the Law to Amend Family law which places the burden of child support on both parents.
This situation leads to Judicial absurdities.
Yacov is sued by Leah for child support for Reuven. The court decides that he must pay 1800 shekels a month for child support( MEZONOT LAYALIDIM)
Dimitri is sued by Olga for child support for Sasha.The financial situation of Dimitri and Olga is exactly the same as Reuven and Leah.However in this case the same judge in the same court rules that Dimitri will pay child support of 900 shekels a month.

Family Law in Israel

Family Law in Israel is a complicated area of law .
The complication is in the fact that the source of law may stem from religious law particularly in all matters regarding marriage and divorce or on secular law legislated by the Knesset particularly in financial relations between couples.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that two parallel court systems have jurisdiction the religious courts and the secular family courts.
The law which applies to the couple is the law of their personal status i.e. their religious status.This rule is a throwback to the days when Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire and each religious community had its own religious court and law. Today in Israel the secular Family affairs court is the primary body to adjucutate disputes between couples but it is also bound by religious principals in certain areas such as child support or maintenance that husband may owe his wife.