A man who underwent a stroke moved to appoint his wife as a supporter in making decisions on his behalf on all his matters but his children contended that the wife intends to take advantage of him financially in light of their wasteful behavior in the past and sought to appoint a guardian for him.
The Court accepted the motion to appoint the wife as a supporter in decision-making, but subject to the supervision of the welfare authorities. A guardian is a person or body appointed by the Court to take care of the affairs of a person who is unable to manage his own affairs. Israeli law stipulates that the Court may appoint a a guardian when the person is unable to manage his affairs. However, due to the importance of preserving the autonomous will of the person, insofar as a person is able to make decisions on his own, the Court will prefer the appointment of a supporter chosen by the person, over the appointment of a guardian. A decision-making supporter is a person appointed for the purpose of assisting those who have difficulty making decisions and performing legal actions, in cases where the denial of the legal capacity of the supported person is not required. However, the appointment may be subject to certain conditions, which will be determined according to the circumstances of each case. Here, because the stroke did not create difficulty in judgment, in order to preserve the man's free will, and due to the lack of apprehension of exploitation by the wife, it is appropriate to appoint the wife as a supporter in making decisions. However, and in particular when the man's medical condition requires a long-term financial preparation, and in light of the wasteful conduct of the man and his wife in the past, the appointment must be accompanied by supervision from the welfare authorities.