According to the Israeli Inheritance Law, חוק הירושה, if one has not left a will, his estate will be be divided according to the law.
The law defines who the heirs are and the manner in which the inheritance will be divided. Heirs are the spouse, children and their issue (descendants), and/or parents of the deceased, their children (ascendants).
Typically, the division is 50% goes to the spouse and 50% to the children, which is equally divided between the number of children.
It is not uncommon for Olim to assume that the remaining spouse automatically inherits the entirety of the share, similar to some countries and therefore do not think it is necessary to have a Will in Israel. However that is NOT the case and it would look something like this for example:
Both spouses are equally registered owners of a real estate property. The distribution according to the law will be that the deceased spouse share (1/2) is divided so that 50% is passed on to the spouse and 50% to the children. In this case, the children own 25% of the property together with the spouse’s 75%, as opposed to the spouse becoming 100% owner of their property.
There are many additional scenarios you may not have thought of depending on the composition of your family and properties (second marriages, co-ownership…).
For the sake of ensuring that your true intentions be executed, it is advisable to draw up a Will with your preferred provisions. I therefore, recommended to consult a probate lawyer who specializes in Israeli inheritance law.