A couple married when the husband had a residential apartment at the time. The couple subsequently divorced and the bank wanted to remove the woman and her daughter from the apartment, partly because a few years earlier, the woman had signed a waiver that she had no rights to the apartment.
The Supreme Court held that the assets of couples who married after 1974 (when the Financial Relations Law was enacted) belong equally to both of them, unless otherwise agreed in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law. However, the division of assets does not apply to assets that were owned to any of the spouses on the eve of the marriage, unless there are conditions that make the property a joint asset, with the passage of time not being a sufficient condition. Therefore in this case the woman had never had rights to the apartment. Moreover, even if the woman had rights in the apartment, when she relinquished in writing any right that she had, the bank should not be required to inquire about unregistered rights, if any, and therefore the bank did not deviate from the duty of fairness expected from it under the circumstances.