M., 73 years old, a resident of Ashdod and a bereaved father, found himself in heavy debt of over a million shekels, following a complex legal and family entanglement that began over a decade ago.
After a lengthy legal process, the Kiryat Gat Magistrate's Court recently made an extraordinary and precedent-setting decision - ordering the complete and immediate discharge of M. from all of his duties, despite the objections of the trustee and the person in charge of the case.
The man, divorced and a father of four, lost one of his sons in 2005, who committed suicide following trauma from his military service in the "Shaldag" unit.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
According to attorney Zvi Weishengard, who represents him, the death of his son led M. to a severe and ongoing mental crisis, and since then he has suffered from deep depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, but has often been forced to stop taking essential medications due to his financial hardship.
Furthermore, he was recognized by the National Insurance Institute as suffering from a medical disability of 42% due to diabetes, shortness of breath, and orthopedic problems.
Due to his difficult medical and financial situation, M. lives in an old rented apartment, without an elevator and without air conditioning, and has difficulty paying the rent. He survives on an old-age pension, a nursing benefit, and strenuous work as a gas distributor - hard physical work that he performs in order to survive financially.
According to Attorney Weishengrad, the root of M.'s financial entanglement began in 2009, when a bitter family conflict erupted over a farm he owned in a moshav near Gedera, where he previously lived with his ex-wife and children.
Following the conflict and several legal proceedings, the farm was sold in 2015 as part of receivership. Of the sale amount (5.5 million shekels), M.'s ex-wife received 1.1 million shekels, while he himself, he claims, received a paltry sum of only about 200,000 shekels.
In 2018, after another proceeding in the Lod District Court, M. was evicted from the farm, after it was purchased by a couple who wanted to move in. Since he refused to vacate, he was required to pay them compensation in the amount of half a million shekels, a debt that became central to the current insolvency proceedings.
According to Attorney Weishengard, throughout all the legal proceedings in which he was involved, M. received poor legal representation, which prevented him from defending himself properly. For example, M. claims that he never met his first lawyer in the insolvency proceedings, which caused various omissions in the proceedings, in particular the failure to submit bimonthly financial reports on time.
During the insolvency proceedings opened against him in 2023, M. was initially given a monthly payment order of 2,500 shekels, but due to omissions at the beginning of the proceedings, a 5,000 shekel arrears arose in the payment order. This arrears were cleared in full before the final hearing in his case.
The trustee in the case, Attorney Sivan Yosef, asked the court to establish a financial rehabilitation plan under which the elderly man would pay a total of 2,500 shekels per month for a period of 36 additional months, claiming that it was her professional duty to balance M's interests with those of the creditors, and therefore he must pay a minimum amount.
In preparation for the hearing, M. contacted attorney Zvi Weishengard, chairman of the insolvency committees at the National Bar Association - who was qualified to represent him.
Attorney Weishengard submitted his response to the court, in preparation for the hearing, in which he requested that the debtor be granted a full discharge, claiming that we have a duty as a company to discharge elderly debtors who do not have a pension.
According to him, even though these debtors are still working in stressful jobs and ostensibly have disposable income, they should be exempt, as these funds will serve them in their final years.
At the hearing, Attorney Weishengard argued that this was a particularly unusual case of an elderly person suffering from severe mental and physical problems, without any financial basis for the future. M. also testified at the hearing and revealed his serious mental and health condition, the physical difficulty at work, and the feeling of futility in continuing his life in his current state.
During the hearing, the trustee, Adv. Sivan Yosef, and the supervising attorney joined Adv. Vishengard's position, and left it to the court's discretion to decide whether there is room to grant a final discharge or to determine any kind of repayment plan.
In a precedent-setting decision, Honorable Justice Ido Kafkafi of the Kiryat Gat Magistrates' Court ruled: "Indeed, the conditions of Section 162A apply, which allow for payment to be determined from a percentage of his actual earnings. However, in my opinion, when a person at the age of 73 is forced to work in order to live with dignity, there is no place to take a percentage of this income, which will generate very little benefit to creditors and great harm to the debtor who has no financial basis for his old age, and in any case there are special reasons that justify shortening the period. After examining all the circumstances, the conditions of Section 167(a) of the law apply, and therefore, the debtor is hereby granted immediate discharge.""
In his decision, the judge lifted all legal restrictions imposed on M., including the cancellation of a stay of departure from the country. The judge also ordered the closure of enforcement cases against M. and the cessation of legal proceedings against him.
Attorney Zvi Wischengard said in response: "The court's decision will allow M. to live his last years with dignity and without debt. This is a precedent-setting and humane decision, which emphasizes the need to reexamine the obligation of pensioners to make high monthly repayments. This is a nationwide phenomenon of elderly people who, in their twilight years, find themselves in severe financial distress, and now, despite their age and due to their desperate situation, they are forced to avoid essential medical treatments and work for a living, sometimes in arduous physical labor, as in the case in question.".
