An Israeli court has approved the cancellation of more than 500,000 shekels in debt for a 75-year-old pensioner after finding that the liabilities were incurred without her knowledge by her son, who struggled with severe drug addiction and later died of an overdose.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled that the woman should receive an immediate and full discharge from her debts after determining that the circumstances were exceptional and that forcing her to continue in insolvency proceedings would be unjust.
According to court filings, the woman entered insolvency after her son allegedly stole her credit cards, took out loans in her name without her consent and used the money to purchase drugs. During the legal proceedings, it was argued that the debts accumulated gradually and that the son later demanded additional funds beyond those he had fraudulently obtained. In an effort to meet the growing obligations, the mother took out further loans, but her modest income made repayment impossible, leading to her financial collapse.
Most of the debts were created without her knowledge, her attorney said. After her son’s death about a year ago, the woman was left with liabilities totaling more than 500,000 shekels. The woman was represented by attorney Zvi Vishngard, chairman of the Insolvency Committee of the Israel Bar Association, who filed a request on her behalf for protection from creditors and the opening of insolvency proceedings. Vishngard told the court that for the past eight years the woman has worked full time as a shop clerk, a job involving prolonged standing, lifting merchandise and serving customers.
Her monthly salary is about 5,900 shekels, supplemented by an old-age allowance of roughly 2,500 shekels a month. Despite her age and health problems, she continued working to comply with a payment order issued during the proceedings but was unable to keep up with the required payments.
She lives alone in a rented one-room apartment, owns no assets and suffers from a complex medical condition. A court-appointed trustee reported that eight claims had been filed against her, with approved debts totaling about 530,000 shekels.
Through her attorney, the woman asked the court to grant her an immediate discharge from all debts. She argued that the monthly payments imposed on her were extremely burdensome for her but negligible for the creditors, which include major banks and credit card companies. Vishngard told the court that the payments did not meaningfully serve the creditors and that keeping the woman in the insolvency process, given her age, lack of a pension and poor health, amounted to severe mistreatment of a vulnerable person.
attorney Zvi VishngardPhoto: Baruch GreenbergDuring the hearing, the woman testified about her hardships and said she no longer had the strength to continue working because of her age and medical condition. “I work to pay debts I did not create,” she told the judge. “I am working so no one knocks on my door and tells me I owe money. I never had debts in my life until they knocked on my door and I did not even know about it.”
At the conclusion of the hearing, representatives of the official receiver for insolvency and economic rehabilitation, along with the trustee appointed in the case, informed the court that they agreed to grant the woman an immediate discharge from all her debts.
Judge Ofer Yuval ruled that the case involved extraordinary circumstances and ordered a full and immediate discharge. In his decision, he wrote that the woman’s life circumstances had not been kind, that she had faced many difficulties and that despite accumulating some arrears, she felt obligated to work in order to comply with the payment order and live with dignity.
Given her advanced age, the loss of her son, the deterioration of her health, the difficulty she faces in continuing to work, the absence of any pension to which she is entitled and her right, like any person, to live the remainder of her life in peace without the burden of past debts, Yuval said the conditions justified an immediate discharge without requiring further monthly payments.
The judge also canceled restrictions imposed on her during the proceedings, ordered the closure of enforcement cases opened against her and lifted a ban on her leaving the country. Vishngard said the ruling reflects a growing humanitarian trend in Israeli courts to release debtors who have passed retirement age and lack assets or significant social benefits from their debts. “In a humane society and a functioning state, there is no place for forcing elderly people to work until the end of their days,” he said.