Question:
Does Israeli inheritance law discriminate against single-sex couples or can they inherit just like heterosexual couples who cohabit but are not married ?
Answer:
Until recently, despite a slow trend recognizing the legal rights of single sexed couples , they were discriminated against regarding Inheritance. Courts interpreted the 1965 Inheritance Law regarding the rights of non-married cohabiting couples very strictly; they only applied to a couple comprising a man and a woman. Surviving partners in a Homosexual or Lesbian relationship had no inheritance rights under the act. However,a revolutionary judgment made by Nazareth District Court in November 2004 may mark the beginning of the gradual recognition of the rights of cohabitees in single-sexed relationships to inherit.
In a 2:1 majority ruling the Nazareth Court accepted an appeal by the surviving homosexual partner of the deceased, with whom he had had a relationship spanning over 30 years, regarding his right to inherit under the act. The family court decision in 2003 had rejected his right to inherit as a common law spouse in a Homosexual relationship. Overturning this, the appeal court accepted the legal point that a single-sex surviving partner could qualify as a common-law spouse under the Inheritance Act.
While the language of the act referred to "a man and a woman" the appeal court held that this expression was a "key" and not a "lock". Hebrew grammar had no neuter, only male and female, and therefore the wording of the act could not be neutral.
".. We are interpreting the definition of existing status; we are examining who can enter its gate," the court said, stressing that it did not aim to create a new status, just to interpret the law . However, the court said, "if that interpretation is within the realms of a revolution then I have made a revolution."
In any case, it is recommended that those wishing to be certain either way regarding their surviving single-sex partners' rights to inherit, should they die, are advised to draft a will expressing their wishes regarding the fate of their property after their demise. If valid, a will takes precedent over their rights under law anyway.