The break-in and theft: How they tried to get their hands on the estate of the late journalist

On August 6, veteran journalist Aliza Valach passed away at the age of 79. Valach was found dead in her apartment on Shenkin Street in Tel Aviv. After her death, a chain of events began that seems almost inconceivable: her apartment was broken into, her credit card was stolen and used, her checks were forged, her car was stolen from her home parking lot and sold twice, and criminals whose identities are unknown tried to take over her apartment worth millions of shekels. Some of the events were made possible due to a delay in updating government systems regarding her death.

Valach was born in January 1947 in Lodz, Poland, and arrived in Israel in 1952 as a small child. Her father passed away when she was a child, and she grew up with her mother, Clara, in northern Tel Aviv. Valach was a respected political reporter for the Davar newspaper and the paper's correspondent in Washington. She lived at the corner of Shenkin and Ehad Ha'am in Tel Aviv, opposite the legendary Tamar Cafe, and was among its regulars until it closed in 2015.

The cafe was a cultural institution where members of the Davar editorial staff, which was located further down the street (at the corner of Shenkin and Melchet), used to hold editorial meetings. After the newspaper closed in 1996, she worked as a book editor. She never married and had no children.

False pretense

It all started when neighbors reported in the days after her body was found that the apartment had been broken into. On the day of the funeral, a man dressed in a ZAKA vest arrived and hung up fictitious mourning notices, stating that the deceased had an aunt sitting shiva in the apartment. It is suspected that the goal was to create the impression that there was a person living in the apartment and to gain a foothold in the property. When asked by the neighbors who he was, the man replied that he had been sent by a person who introduced himself as a family member.

Subsequently, 15,000 shekels were stolen using a credit card stolen from her home, and tens of thousands of shekels were withdrawn using checks on which her signature had been forged. Her mobile phone was also not found in the apartment. In addition, Valach's car was stolen from the parking lot, sold twice within two days, and seized by the police. The transfer of ownership was done online through the government personal area, which requires knowing the password.

Another attempt to reach the apartment was made by two suspects who arrived at the apartment and tampered with the lock, but failed to enter. The police were called, but the suspects managed to escape. Meanwhile, the bank returned the 15,000 shekels stolen from her to the deceased's account.

What to do to prevent a takeover of an estate?

Valach made a will in 2014 before Adv. Yoram Muskat, a close childhood friend of hers. The two studied at the Tel Aviv Alliance High School in northern Tel Aviv and were the third graduating class of the school. According to the will, Valach bequeathed her property to a trust to be called "Valach - Love your neighbor as yourself." From it, donations will be directed, among other things, to the Rabin Center, the ALUT association specializing in autism, and associations involved in promoting teenagers and young people. Valach appointed Muskat as the executor of the estate.

"Only the day after the funeral did we receive the keys to the apartment from the neighbor," said Adv. Muskat. "I gave testimony to the police after the break-in. When I entered the apartment, I discovered that the apartment was completely turned upside down. In retrospect, it seems they stole a credit card, a checkbook, the car key, licenses, and her ID card."

Upon learning of the break-in, Muskat began working to change the locks in the apartment and install cameras in the apartment. In the first two days, he even hired a security guard to ensure that those criminals did not take over the apartment. He turned to the court to appoint him as the executor of the estate in accordance with the will and filed complaints with the Lev Tel Aviv police, which included various photos of suspects in the break-in.

The police issued an order to prevent the sale of ownership of the apartment, so a warning note was registered in the Land Registry. According to Muskat, the police acted quickly. "To the police's credit, the quick seizure of the stolen car, help in my quick appointment as executor of the estate, help in issuing a restraining order on transactions in the apartment, and direct contact with the fraud division should be credited." The police stated that the investigation is ongoing.

The delay that led to the failure

One of the failures that allowed the conduct regarding her property was the lack of reporting in the Population Registry about the death. At least 8 days after she was buried, it was still not recorded in the Ministry of Interior that she had passed away, and apparently, as of the day of publication, her death had not yet been reported to the Ministry of Interior, which is linked to other government ministries. According to a source in the Ministry of Interior, a period of two to three weeks is a standard period for reporting.

The delay in reporting her death allowed the car to be sold fraudulently by the thief. The Ministry of Transport did not receive a report of her death, and thus the transfer of ownership, which was done online, was made possible.

The story did not end with the seizure of the car. Now the legal question arises whether the buyer who bought the car, as far as is known in good faith, will be able to enjoy the protection of the "market rule." The Sales Law states that under certain conditions, a buyer of property sold in the ordinary course of business by someone who deals in the sale of such assets may acquire ownership of the property even if the seller was not its owner, provided that he acted in good faith and for consideration. The executor of the estate filed a request with the court to return the car seized by the police to him, and a decision has not yet been made.

"Thirst for culture and knowledge"

Valach was buried in Kiryat Shaul, where her mother is also buried. The funeral was organized by her good friend, journalist Tali Lipkin-Shahak, and was attended by her friends Dalia Rabin, Shimon Sheves, Niva Lanir, Amir Oren, Anat Sargosti, former Air Force Commander Eitan Ben Eliyahu, businessman Miki Federmann, and others. On her tombstone, it will be written: "Aliza Valach, a human being, journalist and editor, thirsty for culture and knowledge. A beloved friend."

"Aliza was knowledgeable about the public arena, both political and cultural, both Israeli and international, but she was a very private person," said Lipkin-Shahak. Muskat eulogized his friend at the funeral: "We were not there when you returned your soul to the Creator. We were not there when you lay in your loneliness and perhaps expected us to call or visit or comfort and hug or kiss. Now, it is no longer possible, and we feel alone and that we could have done more."

The phenomenon of attempting to take over the property of a lonely person, often an elderly person or someone who does not have a close family support system, is a painful and known phenomenon. It should be noted that the practice of late reporting by the authorities works in favor of the criminals, and it is appropriate that a self-examination be done to speed up the transfer of information from the Chevra Kadisha and the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Interior, to which banks and various government ministries are linked.

One of the ways is to make a will and appoint an executor of the estate to prevent future claims of "undue influence" or incompetence. In addition, it is recommended to attach to the will a medical opinion prepared on the same day indicating that the testator is completely lucid. Also, lawyers recommend depositing the will with the Registrar of Inheritance to prevent a situation where an interested party hides the real will and presents a forged will.

From the Office of the General Guardian, it was stated that "in order to avoid such cases, we recommend that the public deposit their wills with the Registrar of Inheritance while they are still alive. Depositing a will ensures that the will will be located quickly and helps reduce the risk of attempts to take over the property after death. Depositing a will with the Registrar of Inheritance is exempt from paying a fee, once every five years."

According to Adv. Muskat, the fundamental failure is in the transfer of information, according to which, although a burial license is issued by the Chevra Kadisha, the Ministry of Interior still does not know that that person has passed away.

From the Population and Immigration Authority, it was stated in response: "As a rule, the Ministry of Health is the body that updates deaths and it is the one that transfers information about every death to the Population and Immigration Authority. Upon receiving the information, the data is updated in the Population Registry without delay. If a death has not been updated, it means that the information has not yet been transferred by the Ministry of Health." The Ministry of Health responded: "The death notice was entered into the Ministry of Health's computerized national death system on August 9."

*** Full disclosure: Adv. Yoram Muskat is the legal advisor to Globes.