Family Law — Tort Claims Between Spouses
Divorce Compensation in Israel
Tort Claims Between Spouses
Adv. Liron Yitzhak Elmaliach advises on tort claims between divorcing spouses — for causing the divorce through wrongful conduct, emotional distress, and economic harm. Jerusalem. Free initial consultation.
When You Can Claim Compensation in Divorce
Tort claims between spouses are fully recognised in Israeli law. The Family Court has jurisdiction to award damages where one spouse engaged in wrongful conduct that caused measurable harm to the other. This is an important and often overlooked remedy available alongside — or after — the main divorce proceedings.
The most common grounds for a compensation claim in divorce include: causing the divorce through wrongful conduct (such as prolonged get refusal, domestic violence, adultery, or severe neglect of the family), intentional infliction of emotional distress, and concrete economic damage — for example, sabotaging the other spouse's livelihood or dissipating marital assets.
Prolonged get refusal is one of the clearest cases. When a spouse withholds a religious divorce for years — trapping the other spouse as an agunah — Israeli courts have been willing to award substantial tort damages for the harm caused. The longer the refusal and the more deliberate the conduct, the greater the potential award.
What the Family Court awards is determined case by case. Judges weigh the nature and duration of the wrongful conduct, the severity of the harm, the financial position of both parties, and whether the claimant took steps to mitigate their losses. Strong documentation — medical records, financial records, communications — is essential to building an effective claim.
The Damages Available
Israeli courts recognise several categories of compensation in divorce tort claims. Pain and suffering — the emotional distress caused by the wrongful conduct — is the most common head of damage and can be awarded even without documented psychiatric treatment, though evidence of harm always strengthens the claim.
Economic loss covers financial damage directly caused by the other spouse's wrongful conduct — for example, where a spouse was forced to give up employment to escape domestic violence, or where a business was destroyed through deliberate sabotage. Lost years of opportunity is a related concept: compensation for the years a spouse invested in the family and was denied the opportunity to build an independent financial base, particularly where the other spouse's misconduct prevented them from benefiting from that investment.
Importantly, tort compensation is separate from and additional to regular property division. Property division in Israel follows a statutory framework that distributes marital assets equally regardless of fault. The tort claim sits on top of that — it is an additional remedy for wrongful conduct, not a substitute for what the claimant is already entitled to under property law.
Israeli case law includes awards in the range of ₪50,000–₪500,000 for divorce tort claims, depending on the facts. In cases of extreme get refusal or severe domestic violence with documented harm, higher awards have been made. An early assessment by an experienced attorney is the best way to understand what is realistic in your case and how to build the claim effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions — Divorce Compensation
Tort claims between spouses in Israeli family law
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Divorce Tort Claims — Free Initial Consultation
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