Court Freezes Sale of Farm Signed by 91-Year-Old Woman Under Guardianship

The Beersheba District Court recently issued an injunction freezing the sale of an agricultural estate in a southern cooperative moshav, which was signed by a 91-year-old illiterate woman under legal guardianship. Judge Gil Daniel granted the request filed by five of her children, ruling that the circumstances surrounding the agreement raise serious legal and factual questions.

In January 2025, the elderly woman signed an agreement to sell the estate for 2.5 million shekels. However, roughly a year earlier, a legal guardian had been appointed for her personal and financial affairs, and the transaction was carried out without the guardian's knowledge or court approval. In April of this year, the woman passed away. Five of her children filed a lawsuit seeking to annul the agreement, alongside a request for a temporary injunction barring any actions concerning the estate until a final verdict is reached.

The plaintiffs argued that the transaction was executed hastily, unlawfully, and behind the guardian's back at a time when their mother lacked legal capacity. The children emphasized that an addendum to the agreement explicitly conditioned its validity on the termination of the guardianship, a condition that was never met. They warned that without an injunction, the buyer might carry out irreversible actions on the property. Another daughter of the deceased, whom her siblings accused of promoting the deal, ultimately supported the issuance of the injunction.

Conversely, the buyer argued that a psycho-geriatric medical opinion established the elderly woman's legal capacity to sell the farm. According to the buyer, the deceased intended to transfer funds from the proceeds to a local synagogue, and she warned that freezing the transaction would delay the construction of her home and cause heavy financial losses.

Judge Daniel accepted the children's petition, clarifying that the appointment of a guardian does not inherently strip an individual of legal capacity, meaning the signature alone does not automatically void the contract. Nevertheless, the circumstances of the transaction pose significant difficulties. The appointment of the guardian was based on welfare reports indicating that the elderly woman was frail, suffered from cognitive decline, and could not manage her affairs independently, alongside documents confirming she could not read or write.

The court emphasized that the buyer and those acting on her behalf were aware of the existing guardianship, and the contractual condition requiring its removal was unfulfilled. The judge assessed that the main lawsuit has strong prospects of success, and that the balance of convenience favors the children, as completing the transaction could cause irreversible harm, whereas the buyer's damages are quantifiable. Consequently, all property transfers and construction work were prohibited, pending a 20,000 shekel deposit and an undertaking for damages, while the buyer was ordered to pay 10,000 shekels in legal expenses.