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Reintroducing The Shtar Chatzi Zachar

Introduction A daughter does not inherit her father if the father leaves sons

The Torah[1] tells us that if someone dies and leaves one or more daughters and no sons, then the daughters inherit all of his possessions. If, however, he leaves even one son, the son inherits all and the daughters receive nothing. Even if the deceased would leave a will instructing that his daughter should inherit him, it would have no validity in Halacha. As the Rambam[2] says, “A person cannot make inherit someone who is not due to inherit him, nor can he prevent from inheriting someone who is due to inherit… as it says[3], ‘And it shall be for the Children of Israel as a statute of judgement,” which teaches that this is a statute that cannot be changed and is unconditional. It makes no difference if one is well or on one’s deathbed, nor if one writes this instruction or gives it orally.”

Moreover, not only can a person not cause someone else to inherit him, seeing as the inheritance automatically passes to whom the Torah defines as the nearest relative, but a person also cannot give away his possessions as a present after his death[4]. This is because only a live person can effect an act of giving or receiving. After death, a person cannot effect anything, even if he left instructions beforehand.

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