The life-partner of a minor's biological mother sought to be registered as an additional parent to the minor, even though she is neither an Israeli citizen nor of a permanent resident status of Israel, contrary to the Minister of Welfare's guidelines that state this as a precondition.
The Court accepted the motion due to the minor’s best interests. The principle of the best interest of the minor is the supreme principle that guides the Court in any procedure involving minors. The best interest of the minor is the minor’s right to have the physical and mental well-being preserved and that the mental and physical needs be properly provided for and should be evaluated in relation to the best interests of the specific minor at hand. Here, the applicant is a person with whom the minor has had a continuous relationship since the day of her birth and at the same time is at the beginning of a process to attain legal residency, which is expected to last up to 7 years. Therefore, postponing the issuance of the parental order until residency is attained means that for many years the applicant will not have a legal obligation towards the minor. This situation has consequences to the detriment of the minor, such as the lack of liability for alimony, the lack of a legal guardian in the event of the passing of the biological mother, and more. Hence, the best interest of the minor necessitates the issuance of a parental order immediately and one should not wait until residency attained.