Why Cross-Border Families Need Extra Planning

Jul 11

By Dr. Ilana Kwartin, Adv.

If Your Kids Are in Israel and the Unthinkable Happens, Will the Right Person Be Able to Step In?

For parents with ties to both the United States and Israel, estate planning is about more than who gets your assets. It is also about making sure your children are protected if an emergency happens while they are abroad.

This is especially important for families whose children spend time in Israel for vacations, school breaks, summer programs, gap year programs, or visits with grandparents and other relatives.

Most parents assume that if they have named guardians in their US estate plan, everything will be handled smoothly. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

When minor children are physically in Israel, a crisis can become much more complicated than families expect.

Your US Documents May Not Be Enough on Their Own

Estate planning / Family law / Israel

ilana.kwartin@gmail.com / +972-507-393376

A US will or guardianship nomination is a critical part of a good estate plan. But if your children are in Israel when both parents die or become incapacitated, those US documents may not be enough to let a relative act quickly and easily there.

Israeli authorities, schools, hospitals, and other institutions may need documentation that can actually be used in Israel. Depending on the situation, documents may need to be translated, authenticated, or reviewed through local legal procedures before someone can step in with clear authority.

That can create delays at the worst possible time.

What Can Go Wrong?

Even in loving, close families, important questions can come up right away:

Who can make medical decisions for the children?
Who can pick them up from school or a program?
Who can care for them immediately?
Who can arrange travel?
Can a relative take them back to the United States?
What happens if the person you named as guardian lives in the US, but the closest family members are in Israel?

If the family has not planned ahead in both countries, the answer may not be simple.

Cross-Border Families Need Extra Planning

Families with connections to more than one country often face issues that purely domestic families do not. For example:

The children may be in Israel temporarily, but for an extended period.
The guardians named in US documents may not be the relatives physically present in Israel.
Different family members may disagree about whether the children should remain in Israel or return to the US.
Local institutions may require forms or proof of authority before releasing the children or allowing decisions to be made.

This is not just a legal problem. It is a practical one, and often an emotional one too.

When children are already facing trauma, confusion about who has authority to care for them only makes things harder.

Coordinated US-Israel Planning Can Help

The good news is that this can often be addressed with thoughtful planning in advance.

For families with meaningful ties to Israel, it is wise to think beyond a US-only estate plan. In many cases, parents should consider coordinated planning that takes both jurisdictions into account.

That may include:

clear guardian nominations in US documents;
complementary Israeli documents where appropriate;
consistent instructions across both sets of documents; and
advance planning for what relatives in Israel would actually need to do in an emergency.

The goal is to make things easier, faster, and clearer for the people who may need to protect your children.

It Helps to Work with Counsel in Israel

A US estate planning attorney can help you put important protections in place. But if your family has ongoing ties to Israel, it may also be helpful to involve an Israeli estate lawyer as part of the planning process.

An Israeli attorney may be able to help with:

reviewing whether your US guardianship documents are likely to work smoothly in Israel;
preparing parallel or supporting Israeli documents if needed;
identifying practical issues before a crisis happens; and
helping family members on the ground in Israel if an emergency actually occurs.

That kind of coordination can save valuable time and reduce confusion when every hour matters.

The Bottom Line

If your children spend time in Israel, have family there, or could find themselves there during a family emergency, your estate plan should account for that reality.

Naming guardians in a US will is essential. But for cross-border families, that may be only part of the picture.

Planning ahead with both US and Israeli counsel can help make sure the people you trust are in a better position to act quickly, protect your children, and avoid unnecessary legal and logistical complications.

That is the kind of planning no parent wants to think about - but every cross-border family should.

Dr. Ilana Kwartin, Adv.