A legal guardian is someone appointed by a family court to manage the affairs of an individual who cannot manage some or all of their own affairs, either temporarily or permanently, and has no one else to manage them in their stead.

The aim of guardianship is to avoid situations that leave individuals in long-term care helpless or vulnerable to exploitation when they are no longer self-sufficient in their actions or understanding and are unable to manage their own affairs independently and in their own best interests.

A legal guardian is appointed after the court is convinced that the individual cannot manage their own affairs, based on a medical opinion and social worker’s report, and provided that the individual has not already appointed an enduring power of attorney (described in further detail later in this section) authorizing another person to manage their affairs if and when they cannot do so on their own. It is in the court’s power to determine whether the appointment is for a general guardian responsible for all areas of life, or a partial guardian responsible only for the specified areas, as well as the identity of the guardian and the duration of the appointment.

In cases where the individual has some level of independent ability, it is recommended to weigh the option of granting power of attorney to a family member or someone they are close to. The power of attorney may be limited to specific areas and revoked at any time, depending on the wishes of the person in long-term care.

A professional corporate guardian is appointed for individuals who do not have a family member able or willing to take on the role of guardian or when the family member is found unsuitable for the role. The corporate guardian must receive authorization by the administrator general at the Ministry of Justice, with the approval of the Ministry of Welfare.

The three types of guardianship

• Guardian for personal matters: responsible for the welfare and health of the individual.
• Guardian for health matters: responsible for the health of the individual.
• Guardian for property matters: handles the administration, preservation and development of the person’s property, as well as actions taken to access the person’s financial rights (receiving pensions, for example). The guardianship is supervised, and the guardian must submit periodic reports to the office of the administrator general. Improper conduct and missing reports can lead to referral to the court and the guardian being replaced.

Process of appointing a guardian

1. To submit a request to be appointed guardians, family members should apply to the family court in the ward’s area of residence. Families from the Arab sector are permitted to apply to a Sharia court. The application involves payment.
2. The request should include:
   • An application form containing the details of the ward and the reasons you wish to appoint a legal guardian for them. It is best to specify the length of time for which you are requesting the appointment: permanently or for a specific period. The form also includes the details of the person requesting to be named guardian, including ID number, address and phone number. For more details and to download the form (in Hebrew), click here.
   • A letter of consent from the person requesting to be named guardian, along with the signatures of the ward’s first-degree relatives.
   • If there are family members or relatives who object to the appointment, the detailed objection must be included in the application.
   • The medical opinion of a psychiatrist/geriatric psychiatrist or other mental/cognitive health specialist, including: diagnosis, opinion regarding the ward’s ability to fully/partially manage their own affairs and their degree of ability to express their opinion about the matter, understand the significance of the appointment and appear before a court.
   • An affidavit signed by a lawyer/court official.
   • If there is an urgent medical need for a legal guardian for physical matters, a medical letter should be attached.
   • Photocopy of the identity card of the ward and guardian.
   • Confirmation of payment of the fee. It is possible to request an exemption from the fee by attaching an affidavit detailing property and income, along with pay slips or other proof of income or unemployment benefits.
   • Four copies of the application should be submitted.
3. In the court, the application will be sent to the legal adviser of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services. From there, it will be transferred to the social services department in the area where the family member for whom you wish to appoint a legal guardian lives, in order to receive a comprehensive report about them and you.
4. A social worker from the department will meet with you and with the person in question and will receive the opinions of the caregiving entities (doctor, educational framework, etc.). Based on these conversations, the social worker will write a comprehensive report and recommendation regarding the necessity of appointing the guardian, as well as a recommendation about the person they think most suitable for the role.
5. This report will be sent back to the legal adviser of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services and from there to the court.
6. If the application and recommendations are accepted by the judge, the applicant will receive a letter of appointment as legal guardian. The court may instruct the guardianship to be divided so that there is one guardian for physical matters and one for property matters, for example.

Enduring power of attorney

An enduring power of attorney is a legal document enabling any adult (over the age of 18) to decide how and by whom their affairs will be managed in the future, if they reach a point where they cannot manage these affairs themselves — on the condition that they understand the significance, aims and consequences of granting the enduring power of attorney. An enduring power of attorney can be granted for personal matters, health matters, property matters, or some or all of these together. The main advantage of this type of power of attorney is that the person making the appointment can make the choice of their own free will, at a stage where they still understand and are able to make and implement decisions about who will manage their affairs and what their lives will look like if and when their condition deteriorates.

The proxy must act according to the appointer’s instructions and must sign and confirm in writing before a lawyer (or professional for medical powers of attorney) that they agree to the content of the enduring power of attorney, including the preliminary instructions included in it.

Multiple proxies

A person may decide to appoint a single proxy or multiple proxies (such as several children) and can also appoint an alternate proxy in case the primary proxy does not wish to act in their name or is unable to do so. It is important to decide whether the proxies will act jointly or separately, the scope of their authority and the responsibility of each, and who will make the decision if there are disagreements.

How is enduring power of attorney granted?

The appointer grants enduring power of attorney in the presence of a lawyer with specific certification from the administrator general; in cases where the power of attorney is required only for medical matters, it is also possible to grant it in the presence of a professional (doctor/nurse/social worker/psychologist/lawyer). An enduring power of attorney must include the signatures of the appointer, the proxy, and the professional and be deposited with the administrator general at the Ministry of Justice by the professional.

The administrator general will begin processing the request only after receiving the original. Once the request has been processed, a notification of approval and/or rejection of the request to deposit the power of attorney will be sent to the appointer along with a copy for the lawyer or professional.

You can find more details about enduring power of attorney and download the required forms on the Ministry of Justice website.