Father sues son over land sale — case reaches Supreme Court
Israel's Supreme Court rejected a father's appeal to cancel the sale of a land plot registered in his son's name. The court ruled that the property was a gift, not a trust, and the sale cannot be annulled. The father must pay the son and the buyer 10,000 shekels in legal costs.
Israel's Supreme Court rejected a father's appeal to cancel the sale of a land plot registered in his son's name. The father had fully financed the purchase of the plot, about 1,500 square meters, but registered it in the son's name. Later, the son sold the land to a third party for 200,000 shekels, prompting the father to sue in the district court to void the transaction and cancel the registration. The father claimed the registration was formal and done 'in trust,' not as a gift. The son, represented by attorney Azmi Younes Nassar, said it was a gift. The buyer, represented by attorney Maro Hlo Ali, stressed he acquired the land in good faith and for consideration. The Supreme Court clarified that in parent-child relations, there is a presumption of gift, and the parent bears a heightened burden to prove otherwise. The court noted the father failed to prove his position, partly because it was established that he regularly provided significant financial help to all his children. The district court's decision was upheld, the father's claim was fully dismissed, and he must pay the son and the buyer 10,000 shekels in legal costs. The buyer's lawyer said the ruling strengthens the status of registration as the basis of property rights and protects legal certainty. The father's lawyer criticized the verdict, saying it is 'a decree that society will not be able to accept' and that selling a plot worth over 2 million shekels for 200,000 was an act of revenge against the father.