When a married couple decides to “break up” their marital relationship – then they face a long and tedious legal process, which aims to separate the lives of the two on all levels, including assets and personal rights. Of course, apart from the cumbersome legal process, it is a difficult process on an emotional level, which requires a difficult struggle.

However, it is common to think that when spouses seeking to divorce or divorce do not have children, then it is a shorter procedure. So it is, that this is not necessarily the case.

In the following article we will discuss the divorce proceedings, the authority of the rabbinical courts and also explain what the law is regarding the division of property between the spouses – which is the part that creates most of the disputes in the divorce proceedings.

This article is for your convenience, dear readers, and should not be construed as a substitute for consulting a family lawyer.

Rabbinical courts:

The unique and exclusive authority in the State of Israel, for matters of marriage and divorce of Jews, belongs to the rabbinical courts. Their authority is set forth in the Rabbinical Courts (Marriage and Divorce) Judgment Law 1953.

In addition to this authority, the rabbinical courts can discuss issues that are inherently related to their exclusive authority, when one of the spouses has submitted a request to discuss it in this court. This procedure is called “binding”. Other issues that the tribunal can discuss, in the event that the lawsuit is involved, are for example: child custody and evidentiary arrangements, division of property and more. However, it should be noted that if the above issues are discussed initially, in the parallel court in Israel that agrees to deal with family law, which is the Family Court, then the Rabbinical Court will not be able to discuss these issues.

Therefore, if one of the parties wants to obtain a relative advantage (which varies depending on the circumstances) in the management of the divorce case, in the court appropriate to his perception (there is a substantial difference in the ruling – in religious law versus civil law), then he must first file the lawsuit in the court he wants. “.

Divorce Procedure:

In the case of a divorce conducted by agreement between the two parties, the two will apply to the Rabbinical Court, where their application will be heard by a panel of 3 judges, who are the “judges” of the Rabbinical Court. The purpose of the divorce claim, whether consensual or not, will eventually lead to a divorce, in a divorce judgment given by the Rabbinical Court, which permits the marriage of the two.

As a rule, the rabbinical court will not rush to grant a divorce, due to the perception of marriage as a supreme value, which must be preserved. Therefore, the rabbinical court will try to bridge the two. Only after an attempt by the rabbinical court will a divorce ruling be announced, followed by a divorce settlement ceremony. When there is no consent between the spouses to the divorce, then the divorce claim may include conducting an evidentiary proceeding. As part of the evidentiary process, the couple will present evidence – to prove the cause of divorce of the party seeking divorce. Causes of divorce, for example: infidelity of one of the parties, misconduct (called “ugliness”), violence, non-existence of marital relations and more.

Division of property between the spouses:

During a divorce proceeding between spouses, it is necessary to separate the assets defined as joint between the two. In cases where there is a pre-determined arrangement, the spouses will act according to which and / or the court / rabbinical court will rule, with due regard and in accordance with the determined agreement, ie – a financial agreement.

If the two have not made a financial agreement, there is a “principle” agreement that applies by default to couples in Israel. The agreement in principle applies under the Financial Relations Law, 5733-1973 (hereinafter: “Financial Relations Law”) and is called a resource balance arrangement. This arrangement states that lifestyle sharing = asset sharing. In other words, the resource balance arrangement stipulates Divorce between the spouses, all the joint property of the spouses will be taken and divided equally between the spouses. Because in a divorce proceeding, in the event of a dispute between spouses regarding the division of property – the court has the authority to deviate from the balance of resources arrangement, but only in exceptional cases and taking into account the couple’s assets and income.

Summary:

We will end the article by expressing our position: it is advisable to consult a family lawyer who is knowledgeable in the above legal system and in particular the differences between the rabbinical courts and the family courts.

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