Notarial Authentication of a Prenuptial Agreement
A property agreement between spouses has no force without approval or authentication. The law opens a notarial route, but on one precise condition: that the agreement was made before the marriage. This guide explains who may approve it, what happens at the meeting, and what the regulations fix as the fee.
What the agreement is
A property agreement between spouses settles the property relations between them: what counts as shared and what stays separate, and what happens to it if the relationship ends. It can cover a home, a business, pension rights, savings, and property yet to be acquired.
The Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973 provides that such an agreement requires approval. An agreement that has not been approved or authenticated as the law requires is not valid as a property agreement, even where both parties signed it entirely willingly.
Who may approve it, and when a notary can
As a rule, under section 2(a) of the Law, the agreement requires the approval of the Family Court or of a religious court. Approval is given only after the court is satisfied that the spouses made the agreement freely and understanding its meaning and its consequences.
Before the marriage or at the time it is solemnised, section 2(c) allows authentication by the marriage registrar instead.
Before the marriage only, section 2(c1) allows authentication by a notary, provided the notary is satisfied that the spouses standing before him made the agreement freely and understanding its meaning and its consequences.
Hence the most practical point on this page: a couple who are already married cannot have a property agreement authenticated by a notary. The notarial route is open only while the marriage has not yet taken place. After that, approval by the Family Court or a religious court is required.
How the authentication runs
- Drawing up the agreement. Its content is settled and agreed between the parties in advance.
- A joint meeting. Both partners stand before the notary together. There is no authentication in the absence of either of them.
- Explanation and verification. The notary explains the meaning of the agreement and its consequences, and satisfies himself that each of them understands, and that neither is acting under pressure.
- Authentication. Once so satisfied, the notary authenticates the agreement.
Where one partner does not command the language of the agreement, a notarial translation has to be arranged, since the law demands actual understanding and not merely a signature.
Who it suits
The notarial route suits a couple who have not yet married and would rather settle the agreement without waiting for a court date. A notary is far more accessible than a court, and the appointment is made at the office to fit the parties' own timetable.
A property agreement is particularly relevant where one party brings property acquired before the relationship, where there is an active business, where one party enters the relationship carrying debt, and where there are children from an earlier relationship.
The authentication establishes exactly what the law asks for: that the agreement was made freely and with an understanding of its meaning and its consequences. That is the element examined if the agreement is ever looked at, which is why it is worth doing properly from the outset.
What it costs
The notary's fee for authenticating a property agreement is fixed by the Notaries Regulations (Service Fees), 5739-1978. It is identical at every notary in Israel and is updated on 1 January each year according to the consumer price index.
The full and current price list is kept in one place on our notary department page.
The authentication fee is separate from the fee for drawing up the agreement and for the advice that precedes it. Only the first is fixed by regulation.
In summary
Two questions decide the route: was the agreement made before the marriage, and if so, can both partners attend before the notary together. If the answer to both is yes, the notarial route is open. If not, the route is approval by the Family Court or by a religious court.
For advice on a property agreement, contact us by phone at 02-5953322 or on WhatsApp at 050-441-1343.
What people ask most often
We are already married. Can a notary authenticate our agreement?
Must both partners attend together?
What happens if the agreement is neither approved nor authenticated?
Does authentication guarantee the agreement cannot be challenged?
One of us does not read Hebrew. What then?
Can the agreement be changed after it has been authenticated?
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Tell us whether the marriage has already taken place and what the agreement covers. That is enough for us to say whether the notarial route is open to you and what it involves.