Smuggling millions in his mother's name: drama in divorce case

The Central District Court in Lod accepted the appeal of a woman who claims that her husband hid joint assets worth millions of shekels by registering them in his mother's name. The decision cancels the dismissal of the lawsuit ordered by the Family Court in Rishon LeZion and returns the case for an in-depth factual investigation.

The couple, who married in 2005, have been conducting divorce proceedings in the Rabbinical Court since 2018. In September 2024, a memorandum of understanding was signed, part of which was approved and executed. While the husband and his mother claimed that it was a comprehensive agreement that settled all property claims, the woman insisted that the document only regulated specific issues and did not constitute a waiver of assets purchased with their joint money and registered in the mother-in-law's name.

The ruling stated that the lawsuit filed by the woman to the Family Court in Rishon LeZion dealt with three main assets: a villa, a business, and rights to a plot of land in the Sharon area. The lawsuit claimed that the assets were purchased with the couple's money or transferred and registered in the mother's name in order to keep them out of the property division as part of the divorce.

According to attorney Avi Gefen, who represented the woman in the appeal:

"The ruling clarifies that a property proceeding between spouses cannot block the investigation of assets registered in the name of a third party. When an allegation arises that property was registered in the name of a relative in order to remove it from the balance of resources, they must be joined to the proceeding and a full investigation of ownership must be allowed."

Attorney Avi Gefen (Photo: Baruch Ben-Yitzhak).

The panel of judges determined that dismissing a lawsuit at the threshold is a drastic remedy taken only in exceptional cases. The judges emphasized that the Rabbinical Court does not have the authority to decide on the rights of a third party who is not a central part of the divorce proceeding. In this case, the validity of the 2024 memorandum of understanding and the intention of the parties regarding the assets registered in the mother's name must be examined in depth.

The husband and the mother were ordered to pay the woman legal expenses in the amount of 10,000 shekels. The ruling sets a clear warning sign against attempts to remove assets from the joint property mass through relatives.

The determination that the limited authority of the Rabbinical Court cannot block the investigation of rights against a third party provides a significant safety net for spouses, and clarifies that fictitious or indirect registration of property will not prevent the Family Court from getting to the truth.