Despite everything: Won half the apartment in Ashdod | The full story

The court ruled that an Ashdod resident is entitled to half of his deceased partner's apartment, even though she bequeathed the entire apartment to her son. Judge Ofra Guy determined that the couple lived together as common-law spouses, and that the woman cannot bequeath more than she owns. The son was ordered to pay 40,000 shekels in legal costs.

The Tel Aviv Family Court ruled that an Ashdod resident is entitled to half of his deceased partner's apartment, despite her bequeathing the entire apartment to her son in her will. Judge Ofra Guy accepted the man's claim, represented by attorney Marina Gorodetsky, and determined that the couple lived together as common-law spouses at least since 2004. The apartment was purchased by the woman in 1993, before she met her partner. The two lived under the same roof from 1998 until the woman's death in 2019. The son, represented by attorney Orel Koran, argued that the two were not a couple and that the man lived in a rented room in the apartment. The judge rejected this claim, relying on evidence of their joint presence at events, trips abroad, the fact that the man asked to write 'my wife' on her tombstone, and testimonies about managing a joint household. Additionally, evidence was presented that the partner transferred thousands of shekels monthly to the joint account, an amount much higher than the rent he was supposedly supposed to pay. The judge wrote in the ruling: 'A person cannot bequeath more than they have,' and determined that the woman's financial management reinforced the fact that she saw the apartment as joint property. The son was ordered to pay 40,000 shekels in legal costs.