A conflict occurred between spouses during the division of property at the time of divorce, when, according to the husband, the residential apartment is in his sole ownership despite the record as joint ownership at the Israeli Land Registry, because the apartment was purchased solely with the proceeds from the sale of an apartment that he owned before their marriage.
The Court dismissed the claim and held that the recording of rights in regulated real estate determines the identity of ownership in the real estate. When spouses record a property under joint ownership, the assumption is that the spouses intended balance and equality, and any excess contribution by one party is a concession or gift by one party to the other, regardless of the source of the funds which served for the purchase of the property. Here, the apartment was purchased when the couple was married and was recorded in both their names at the Land Registry. The husband was unable to prove any agreement that the record did not reflect the reality, and therefore the apartment is deemed jointly owned by both.