School guard disinherited in six wills inherits millions after family feud

A Tel Aviv family court has upheld the will of a 104-year-old man who left millions of shekels to a son he had been estranged from for years, rejecting claims from other heirs that the father was not mentally fit when he signed it.

Judge Lior Bringer ruled that the man, a former owner of a successful textile factory, was competent when he drafted his seventh and final will in 2018. That document left part of his estate — including a quarter share of a house valued at 20 million shekels (about $6 million) and additional bank funds of 2.5 million shekels ($750,000) — to the son with whom he had long been in conflict.

The dispute centered on the man’s two sons. For years, he blamed one of them, who now works as a school security guard, for the collapse of his factory and repeatedly disinherited him in six previous wills. But in 2018, after reconciling with him two years earlier, he restored him as an heir. The father died three years later at the age of 104. The other son, who was also included in the final will, died before his father.

The late son’s widow and children contested the will, arguing the father had been suffering from severe dementia and Alzheimer’s at the time, was confined to a wheelchair and unable to recognize family members. They alleged the will was the product of collusion among three attorneys and a medical professor who certified the man’s mental capacity.

Judge Bringer dismissed the allegations, calling them baseless smears. He cited testimony from the father’s caregiver, who said the man was independent and lucid until his final year and made his own financial decisions. The court also heard that he maintained a relationship with a woman in Germany, whom he regularly visited in Switzerland, booking flights and traveling alone.

Adv. Julie Daniel

“How is it possible that a senile, frail old man, unable to recognize his beloved son, traveled abroad alone to meet his companion? Not once, but repeatedly,” Bringer wrote in his ruling.

Two medical experts testified that the father was competent at the time of signing, while a third expressed some reservations but did not rule out capacity. Bringer concluded that the inclusion of the estranged son was a logical outcome of their reconciliation, making the final will valid.

The widow and children of the deceased son were ordered to pay 500,000 shekels ($150,000) in legal costs and attorneys’ fees.