A prenuptial agreement in a second marriage – what it solves and what it doesn't

Second Marriages · November 4, 2026 · 12 min read

The short answer

A prenuptial agreement (also called a premarital or financial agreement), known in Israel as a heskem mamon, sets out how a couple's property is divided when the marriage ends – by divorce or on the death of one spouse: what stays with each of them, what is treated as shared, and what the surviving spouse receives. Under section 3(a) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973, where there is no prenuptial agreement, or to the extent the agreement does not provide otherwise, the statutory balancing-of-resources regime (izun mash'abim) applies.

A prenuptial agreement does not replace a will. Under section 8 of the Succession Law, 5725-1965, an agreement about a person's inheritance, and a renunciation of that inheritance, made during that person's lifetime are void, and a gift intended to pass only after the giver's death is valid only if made in a will. In a second marriage, the agreement and the wills are therefore two separate documents, each doing its own job, drafted so that they fit together.

1. Why second marriages raise questions of their own

In a second marriage each partner usually arrives with a history: children from an earlier relationship, a home or savings built up before the relationship, pension rights, and sometimes a share in a business. Often the partners want to provide both for each other and for their respective children. Both wishes are legitimate; the question is how to turn them into a written arrangement.

Three questions come up almost every time: what stays with each partner and what is shared; what the surviving spouse receives and what passes to the children; and where the surviving spouse will live. The prenuptial agreement mainly answers the first, the agreement and the wills together answer the second, and either or both of them answer the third.

2. What the law provides when there is no agreement

During the marriage. Under section 4 of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, marriage in itself does not affect either spouse's property, give one spouse rights in the other's assets, or make one liable for the other's debts.

When the marriage ends. Under section 5(a), on the dissolution of the marriage or when it ends on the death of a spouse, each spouse is entitled to half the value of all the couple's assets, including future pension rights, severance pay, study funds, provident funds and savings (section 5(c)). The following are excluded from balancing: assets the spouses owned before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during it, certain benefits, and assets the spouses agreed in writing would not be balanced.

What each partner brought in – and proving it. Assets each partner owned before the marriage are already excluded by law. But under section 9, evidence that an asset is owned or held by one spouse, or registered in that spouse's name, is not in itself enough to discharge the burden of proving that it should be excluded from balancing. A prenuptial agreement that lists what each partner brought in, and what will not be balanced under section 5(a)(3), records those agreements in writing and in advance.

On the death of a spouse. Under section 5(b), when the marriage ends on a spouse's death, that spouse's heirs take that spouse's place as regards the right to balancing. Balancing and the distribution of the estate are two separate mechanisms: under section 11(c) of the Succession Law, what the spouse receives under the Spouses (Property Relations) Law or under a prenuptial agreement is not deducted from the spouse's share of the estate, and under section 148 of the Succession Law, that Law does not affect the property relations between spouses.

3. What a prenuptial agreement can cover

The balancing regime applies only “to the extent the agreement does not provide otherwise” (section 3(a)). Within those limits, the couple decide on the arrangement that suits them:

• A different property regime. Separate property, sharing only certain assets, or a combination – and also what happens to assets bought in the future, or to a separate asset into which shared money is invested.
• Assets that will not be balanced. A home one partner brings into the relationship, savings, pension rights and a share in a business (section 5(a)(3)).
• A different arrangement for divorce and for death. Since on a death the heirs take the deceased spouse's place (section 5(b)), the agreement can determine what the surviving spouse receives under the property arrangement, and what remains in the estate.
• A home or an income for the spouse. In Family Matters Leave to Appeal (Bam) 1811/20 (13 April 2021), the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal, leaving in force a clause in a court-approved prenuptial agreement under which rent from a property owned by the couple would be paid to the widow for the rest of her life. The clause was held not to be an agreement concerning inheritance within section 8 of the Succession Law, and paragraph 21 notes that a residence right for a spouse in a prenuptial agreement is a common and feasible arrangement.
• Acts that need both partners' consent. Under section 12 of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, where under a prenuptial agreement an act of one spouse requires the other's consent and the other refuses, the court may approve the act if it finds the refusal was arbitrary.

4. What a prenuptial agreement does not solve

• Who inherits what. An agreement about a person's inheritance made during their lifetime is void, and a gift intended to pass only after death is valid only if made in a will (section 8 of the Succession Law). The distribution of the estate itself – to whom, in what order and on what terms – is determined by will.
• Renouncing an inheritance. Under section 8(a) of the Succession Law, a renunciation of a person's inheritance made during that person's lifetime is also void. An inheritance therefore cannot be renounced in a prenuptial agreement, including a spouse's share in the other spouse's estate. Where there is no will, under section 11(a) the spouse takes the household movables, including a passenger car, and – if the deceased left children or their descendants, or parents – half of the remainder of the estate. A different division is made by will.
• Undertakings about the will. Under section 27(a) of the Succession Law, an undertaking to make, change or revoke a will, or not to do so, is not binding. A clause in the prenuptial agreement in which the spouses undertake to leave something by will does not bind them. The mechanism the law provides for spouses who want to rely on each other's wills is mutual wills (tzava'ot hadadiyot) under section 8A; however, a provision that entirely removes the right to revoke while both spouses are alive is void (section 8A(c)).
• Maintenance from the estate. Under section 148 of the Succession Law, only that Law applies to inheritance rights and to rights to maintenance from the estate.
• Tax. Transfers of assets between the spouses or to the children are reviewed in coordination with your accountant on tax and reporting.

5. The prenuptial agreement and the wills: how they work together

This is how the two documents can be coordinated on some of the questions a second family raises:

• “Heir after heir”. Under section 42 of the Succession Law, a testator may leave property first to the spouse and then to the children. The first heir may deal with what they received as their own, and the second takes what the first leaves; but the first cannot reduce the second's entitlement by will (section 42(b)).
• Mutual wills. Under section 8A of the Succession Law, spouses may make wills in reliance on each other's will, and revocation is subject to the rules in section 8A(b). See mutual wills.
• The home. Where the estate is divided by court order, the Succession Law allows the spouse, children and parents who lived with the deceased in a home the deceased owned to stay on as tenants of the heirs, at a rent agreed between them or set by the court (sections 110(d) and 115). A different arrangement – for example, a residence right for the surviving spouse, with the home passing to the children afterwards – is set out in the prenuptial agreement, in the wills, or in both. For this, and for the transition period under section 108, see second marriages and blended families.

For drafting, signing and depositing a will, see wills.

6. Form and approval: when it is signed and who approves it

Under section 1 of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, a prenuptial agreement, and any change to it, must be in writing. Section 2 sets out who approves or authenticates it, depending on when it is signed:

Under section 2(b), approval is given only once the court is satisfied that the spouses made the agreement freely and understood its meaning and consequences. A notary authenticates an agreement made before the marriage subject to the same test (section 2(c1)).

7. One lawyer or separate advice

Under rule 14(d) of the Israel Bar Rules (Professional Ethics), 5746-1986, a lawyer may draft an agreement for two parties if both have agreed in writing that the same lawyer will draft it. Acting for both partners is permitted, and suits mainly couples who agree on almost everything and whose finances are relatively balanced. Where there are gaps in assets, income or bargaining power, or where one partner feels pressure or discomfort, each partner should get separate advice.

8. A prenuptial agreement signed abroad

Under section 15 of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, the property relations between spouses are governed by the law of their domicile at the time of the marriage, but they may set and change those relations by agreement in accordance with the law of their domicile at the time the agreement is made. The status of an agreement signed abroad is reviewed case by case, in coordination with your advisers abroad – see families in Israel and abroad.

9. Couples who live together without marrying

Under section 55 of the Succession Law, where a man and a woman live a family life in a common household but are not married to each other, and, at the time one of them dies, neither is married to someone else, the survivor is treated as if the deceased had left them by will what they would have inherited by law had they been married – unless the deceased's will provides otherwise, expressly or by implication. Under section 57(c), the survivor is also entitled to maintenance from the estate as if they had been married. (Partners in this position are commonly known as yedu'im batzibur.)

Couples in this position can make a cohabitation agreement (heskem chaim meshutafim). It is made in writing and signed by both partners. It does not have to be approved by the Family Court, but it can be submitted for approval, and approval strengthens its legal standing. Here too, what passes on death is determined by the wills.

Frequently asked questions

Can a prenuptial agreement decide what my children will inherit?

Not as an inheritance arrangement. Under section 8 of the Succession Law, 5725-1965, an agreement about a person's inheritance made during their lifetime is void, and a gift intended to pass only after death is valid only if made in a will. The prenuptial agreement governs the property relations between the spouses, including what the surviving spouse receives; what the children receive from the estate is determined by will.

Can my spouse renounce their share of my estate in the prenuptial agreement?

No. Under section 8(a) of the Succession Law, 5725-1965, a renunciation of a person's inheritance made during that person's lifetime is void. Where there is no will, the spouse inherits under section 11 of that Law. A different division of the estate is made by will.

Can we sign a prenuptial agreement after the wedding?

Yes. Under section 2(a) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973, an agreement made during the marriage, and any change to an existing agreement, must be approved by the Family Court or the competent religious court. Authentication by a notary or a marriage registrar is available only before the marriage or at the wedding (sections 2(c) and 2(c1)).

Can the prenuptial agreement say that we will not change our wills?

Under section 27(a) of the Succession Law, 5725-1965, an undertaking to make, change or revoke a will, or not to do so, is not binding. Spouses who want to rely on each other's wills make mutual wills under section 8A of that Law – see mutual wills.

Can a prenuptial agreement give the surviving spouse a right to live in the home?

In Family Matters Leave to Appeal (Bam) 1811/20, the Supreme Court noted that a residence right for a spouse in a prenuptial agreement is a common and feasible arrangement, and a clause in an approved agreement giving a widow the rent from a property for life remained in force. Under section 42 of the Succession Law, 5725-1965, a testator may also leave property first to the spouse and then to the children.

The above is general information on Israeli law only, current as of the date of publication, and does not constitute legal advice or a substitute for advice on your specific circumstances. Consult a lawyer before acting.

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