'Parents want their kids not to fight about money after they are gone'

• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Author: ZEV STUB
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Ahead of the International Day of Older Persons, a holiday established by the United Nations and observed on October 1, Hoffman discussed the steps that elderly people can take to put their assets in order. The goal of the day is to raise awareness about issues affecting the elderly, as well as appreciating their contributions to society.

There are several main things a person can do to prepare for end-of-life issues regarding health and money, Hoffman said. The first is arranging for power of attorney (POA), in which power is assigned to someone to make decisions on their behalf. "if you are mentally healthy, you can sign a POA," Hoffman said. "But there is a new element in Israeli law called continuous power of attorney that you can sign now, when you are healthy, giving someone POA in the event that you are not mentally sound. That way, instead of a guardian being appointed by the court in the event that you can no longer make decisions for yourself, you can decide now who your guardian will be."

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Almost any lawyer can set up a continuous power of attorney, and prices for doing so are controlled by the government, Hoffman said.

After death, the only way to dictate how your assets will be divided is with a will. "The POA only allows someone to make decisions for you when you are alive," Hoffman stressed. "Once you are dead, you must have a will written in the way required by law, written by a family lawyer.

Using the wrong kind of lawyer can create all sorts of problems in the family courts, which deal with inheritance matters, so make sure you use a qualified family lawyer.

After death, the Inheritance Registrar at the Justice Ministry will check the will for probate, in a process similar to how it is done in the US or UK."

Hoffman offered some advice based on the most common mistakes people make. "Mistake number one is giving too much info to too many people," he said. "If you have a lot of assets, you don't owe it to anyone to tell them what you have. If you have a grandchild asking how much you have, you don't have to answer them. Otherwise, after you die, that grandchild can start making trouble, with conspiracy theories, trying to subpoena banks, and fighting with...