What will happen to your bank account, your apartment and your medical care if one day — through illness, accident or old age — you can no longer make decisions? Until about a decade ago the answer in Israel was almost always "a court-appointed guardian". Today there is a far better answer, one that keeps the decisions yours: the enduring power of attorney.
The problem this tool solves
A person who loses capacity — having prepared nothing — leaves their family facing a guardianship proceeding: applying to court, welfare reports, hearings, and finally a guardian appointed under the ongoing supervision of the Administrator General, including periodic financial reporting. The process is expensive, slow, public — and above all: the choice of who runs your life is made by the court, not by you.
What an enduring power of attorney is
The enduring power of attorney (yipui koach mitmashech) was introduced by Amendment 18 to the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law (2016). It lets any competent adult decide in advance: who will handle their affairs if they cannot, in which areas, with what authority — and even exactly how, through advance directives. As long as you are competent, the document lies dormant and has no effect whatsoever on your life.
The three areas it can cover
- Property matters — accounts, assets, investments, payments and obligations.
- Personal matters — residence, lifestyle, welfare and occupation.
- Medical matters — consent to treatments, choice of caregivers and institutions.
You may appoint one attorney-in-fact for everything, or split roles — say, a family member for health and a professional for property. You can appoint joint attorneys, substitutes in case the first cannot serve, and "informed persons" who receive reports on significant actions.
Why it beats guardianship
- Your choice — you pick the person, not the court.
- No court proceeding — activation is administrative, through the Administrator General.
- Tailor-made — detailed advance directives: how care is funded, whether to stay at home or move to assisted living, even instructions about gifts to grandchildren.
- Privacy — a family matter, not a court file.
- Flexibility — changeable or revocable as long as you are competent.
Who may draft the document
A critical point: an enduring power of attorney is drafted and signed only before an attorney specially certified by the Administrator General (and who has no personal interest in the document). A document made any other way is simply not valid. Our office is certified to draft enduring powers of attorney.
What the process looks like
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An explanatory meeting
Understanding your family and asset picture, and a full explanation of the implications — no shortcuts.
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Making the decisions
Who the attorneys-in-fact are, what authority they hold, which advance directives apply and who is kept informed.
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Drafting and signing
You and your attorneys-in-fact sign before the certified attorney.
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Deposit in the registry
Online filing with the Administrator General — a precondition for validity.
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Life goes on — activation only if needed
The document waits. It takes effect only under the conditions you set, upon notice to the Administrator General.
Advance directives: the document's real power
The difference between a generic enduring power of attorney and one that truly serves you lies in the advance directives. They can be remarkably concrete: stay at home with a caregiver as long as possible, and only then move to assisted living; keep paying the health insurance and the monthly support for a grandchild in the army; do not sell the apartment unless needed to fund care; even continue the yearly donation to a particular cause. The attorney-in-fact is bound by these directives — they turn the document from a technical appointment into a genuine expression of your will.
And if capacity has already been lost?
Here lies the tool's hard limit: an enduring power of attorney can be made only while the person is competent and understands the document. Families whose loved one is already past that point are left with the court guardianship route (or, in some situations, the narrower "supported decision-making" mechanism). This is exactly why professionals advise not to postpone: the window closes without warning, and after it closes the choice is no longer the person's own.
When it takes effect — and what happens then
The default trigger is a medical opinion determining that you can no longer understand the matter; you may set a different mechanism, such as a decision by a pre-designated close person. From activation, the attorney-in-fact acts on your behalf — within the authority and directives you set, and under full fiduciary duties toward you.
Who is it for? (Hint: not only seniors)
The enduring power of attorney is often thought of as a "document for the elderly", but it is relevant to every adult: accidents and illness do not ask for your age, and young parents, freelancers and business owners gain certainty from it no less than their grandparents. Many people draft it together with a will — two complementary documents: one for your lifetime, one for after.
Disclaimer: this article provides general information only, does not constitute legal advice and is no substitute for personal counsel based on the circumstances of your case.
Want the decisions to stay in your hands?
We would be glad to explain, in a calm personal meeting, how to draft an enduring power of attorney tailored exactly to you.