Israeli Durable Power of Attorney

What Do You Need to Prepare for Your Senior Years in Israel?

Seniors must start to prepare for the future by preparing documents that designate how they want their wishes and interests to be safeguarded in the event that they can no longer do so. Planning ahead is something that should be done by people of all ages but this is especially true of seniors who are more at risk of being unable to make their wishes known due to injury, illness, the onset of dementia or death.

 

If you want to make sure that the right people will be taking care of your interests in such circumstances, you must prepare the documents that an Israeli court will use to allow your designated representative to move forward. There are a number of documents needed but the first and most important is the Israeli Durable Power of Attorney.

Israeli Durable Power of Attorney

If you are a dual Israeli-American citizen, regardless of whether you have already prepared an Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) in the United States, you will need an Israeli Durable Power of Attorney. An Israeli court will not accept a DPOA that hasn’t been signed in Israel according to Israeli law. DPOA is different in the United States and in Israel, specifically regarding to which health care directives a person’s representative can decide. In order to ensure that your DPOA covers your interests in Israel, you should speak to David Page Law regarding this and other planning documents.

The DPOA will give the individual that you designate the authority to act on your behalf in matters relating to government benefits, beneficiary and estate trust transactions, financial investments, banking, real estate holdings as well as regarding personal maintenance issues.

You can also create an Ongoing Power of Attorney to designate the person who will guide decisions about your personal care and living issues in the event that you can no longer make those decisions.

** Please note, an Israeli DPOA does NOT cover end-of-life or health care issues (i.e. use of a feeding tube or resuscitation efforts) which may be covered by your American DPOA.

Wills, Trusts, Estates Planning and Probate

If you have assets in both the U.S. and in Israel, it’s advisable to write two wills, one in the United States and one in Israel. In this way you can safeguard your assets and make sure that the courts in both countries will be able to follow your wishes for their allocation after your passing. David Page Law can help you draft wills in both countries. David Page Law is licensed to practice in both the United States and in Israel which gives him the ability to proceed with your legal needs in a way that meets the legal requirements of both countries.

In addition to the wills you might wish to set up a trust. Both the will and the trust will be incorporated into your estate plan so you can determine which beneficiaries are to receive which assets, which assets will be put into trust for the future, etc.

For your Durable Power of Attorney, estate planning, trust, will and probate needs in either the United States or in Israel – or in both countries – speak to David Page Law.