In Israel, thousands of assets totaling approximately 15 billion Israeli shekels currently remain unclaimed. These unclaimed assets include land, developed real estate, bank accounts, stocks, and bonds.

“Abandoned property” is defined in article 1 of the Law as an asset to which no one has the right and cannot be treated as the owner, or an asset whose owner is unknown.

Naturally, the need arises to claim, find such properties, assets, lands on the part of their legitimate heirs. The process of locating lost, abandoned or unclaimed assets in Israel requires, among other things, a very competent and diligent Israeli lawyer with in-depth knowledge, as well as proper research to trace those lands and assets. How to find and locate a lost or abandoned property in Israel? This article deals with this matter.

The first step is to collect any relevant data, including the family tree or any identification number, to initiate due diligence and genealogical evidence to trace the property, the estate at the Israel Property Registry Offices “The Tabu”, Minhal or Hevra Meshakenet. We will learn the name of the current or historical owner, as well as their Israeli or American identification number / any passport. Information held by the Israeli TABU is considered highly credible and sensitive, and is part of the Israeli land database.

The second step is to verify: 1) managing the abandoned assets for the benefit of private owners and 2) handing over the assets to those entitled to them after obtaining an Israeli inheritance court order, or when the beneficiaries cannot be located, transfer ownership of the State of Israel until suitable heirs are found.

We handle various types of abandoned assets in Israel, including real estate, land, personal property, funds, and bank accounts. By law, an “abandoned property” in Israel is defined as an asset in which the owner or manager cannot be found or is unknown, and which can only be released through an inheritance process and a court order determining the correct heirs. , and now owners of Israeli land or any financial assets in Israel.

The Israeli government concludes its management of the property in one of three main actions. First, you can hand over the asset to the person who is the legal owner again by means of an Israeli inheritance court order. Alternatively, you can transfer the asset to the State of Israel. Third and last, you can transfer the asset to the Company for the location and restitution of the assets of Holocaust victims, if applicable.

We will discuss in detail the first action mentioned above: the negotiation with The TABU on the unclaimed property. In this case, the person claiming a right to the property must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Israeli General Manager that he is the legal owner of the asset. In this process, the General Administrator of Israel will take great care to ensure that they have received sufficient information about the applicant’s rights and a court order of succession to prove that the person is the legal heir. The Israeli General Manager then ensures that the asset is delivered into the right hands and also avoids any threats to the legal owner of the asset, such as illegal acquisitions. Applications can be submitted independently, but it is strongly recommended to do so through a licensed Israeli attorney who is an expert in tracing unclaimed Israeli land.

Although we have focused on Israeli real estate so far, there are many other types of abandoned assets in Israel that can be classified as “unclaimed assets”. Examples of such assets are funds provided for pensions, provident funds, education funds, life insurance policies, executive insurance policies, dormant bank accounts, various savings plans, dividends and stocks, to name a few. These funds can be held and / or managed by Israeli financial institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, hospitals, clinics, corporations, government agencies, and government corporations.

Given the complicated bureaucracy in these institutions and the due diligence required to enter these procedures, only a very competent and diligent attorney familiar with Israeli real estate and the Israeli inheritance process will significantly alleviate the various unavoidable obstacles encountered throughout the process.