Temporary departure of families from Israel may have legal consequences — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, family and inheritance lawyer Judith Meisels warned that a family’s temporary move abroad may have lasting legal consequences, particularly for disputes involving children, divorce, property and inheritance. She said this in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.
According to her, a child may be considered habitually resident in another country even if the parents still view their departure as temporary. In the event of a divorce, one parent may not have the right to return the children to Israel without the other parent’s consent or a court decision.
The child’s habitual residence
Courts assess where the child’s life is actually centered: where they live, study and how integrated they have become into the new environment. They may also take into account the parents’ last joint agreement on where the family would live. There is no fixed period after which a child automatically acquires a new habitual residence.
This concept is key to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Proceedings under the convention determine whether a child should be returned to the country of their habitual residence, but do not decide custody issues. Meisels advises parents to set out in writing the purpose and expected duration of the move, as well as the procedure if one of them wants to return earlier.
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War does not guarantee an exception
The convention allows for a refusal to return a child if there is a grave risk of physical or psychological harm or an intolerable situation for the child. At the same time, the mere existence of war does not mean an automatic refusal: the court must consider the circumstances of the particular child.
In the case of an Israeli mother who traveled to Portugal with her six-year-old daughter in October 2023 and did not return her to Israel, courts issued different rulings. The court of first instance refused to order the child’s return, the Lisbon Court of Appeal overturned that decision, but Portugal’s Supreme Court ultimately rejected the return request on November 26, 2024.
Property and divorce in two countries
A move may also complicate civil and religious divorce. A Jewish couple married under Jewish law may need a religious divorce document, a get, after a civil divorce abroad. Property disputes may require the involvement of courts and lawyers in several countries, especially when real estate or financial assets remain in Israel.
According to Meisels, a foreign court ruling does not automatically take effect in Israel: an Israeli court usually has to recognize it as enforceable. She also noted that for people with substantial assets in two countries, one option may be to prepare separate wills coordinated with each other.
