Following legislation initiated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin: The second phase of the reform of the General Guardianship Office at the Ministry of Justice begins tomorrow.
According to the reform, applications for approval of financial investments will be submitted directly to the General Guardian, instead of to the courts, in an online, fast and efficient process.
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A guardian or attorney-in-fact who wishes to invest the funds of the person over whom they are responsible can apply for approval from the General Guardian, through a simple procedure, at no cost and without the need for a court order. This way, they can tailor the nature of the investment to the person over whom they are responsible.
By law, a guardian is required to invest the money of the person he is in charge of, except for funds required for daily living. Now, the Minister of Justice has enacted regulations that significantly expand the possible investment avenues.
The regulations stipulate that guardians can invest some of the funds of the person they are appointed over in stocks, highly rated bonds, and other investment avenues, without the need for approval from any authority.
It was also determined that custodians can now also invest through a wide variety of entities, including investment houses or institutional entities, and not just through banks, and without an amount limit.
These reliefs also apply to a continuing power of attorney that has entered into force, if the appointer has not established prior instructions regarding the investment of his funds.
It is clear that the first phase of the reform is proving itself - so far, about 4,000 applications have been submitted in a wide variety of fields, which were processed on average within only 12 days of processing. This is instead of a long and expensive legal process that previously took an average of about 5 months.
Itamar Donenfeld, Director General of the Ministry of Justice: "The relief on the issue of people investing money in guardianship is extremely important, and is intended to make things easier for the guardianship community, the vast majority of whom are devoted family members of people who have lost their legal capacity. This reform is part of the policy of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, which is intended to improve and streamline the legal service provided to the public, with an emphasis on shortening processing times and streamlining procedures.".
Attorney Ben-Zion Figelson, the Guardian General: "The Guardian General is initiating in-depth reforms to improve public service in the field of legal training and guardianship. The reform and the easing of permits for economic activities assist family members and those who care for them in managing their daily lives and providing for their needs, so that they can continue to care devotedly for the people they are entrusted with.""
