I am a widow living on a small pension. I have been living with a divorced man who is much older than me for many years. He moved into my apartment several years ago and we split the household bills between us . He has always been very discreet about his finances . He has recently been diagnosed as being in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. I love him dearly but am worried that my children could lose out as he would have rights to my apartment as a cohabitee which his children could claim if his condition deteriorated or he died , although I know he wouldn’t want this to happen . Even though he has Alzheimer’s , can we make a property relations agreement which confirms that he has no property rights to my apartment , although I agree to him living there with a care-giver , if necessary, for a certain period, if I should die first, before my children get possession ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 10 May, 2022Yes, a family court can authorise such an agreement where it is satisfied that both parties have understood its contents and their implications and signed of their own free will , providing appropriate medical statement is obtained showing that the party suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is in the early stages of the progressive disease when he can retain legal capacity. A family court in Israel authorised an agreement between cohabitees where one was in the early stages of the disease, several months after the Jerusalem District Court held that a testator in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease can still have the legal capacity to make a will.