MARVA has been awarded a grant from the National Insurance Institute to provide emergency legal assistance during the pandemic crisis. Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, MARVA has been receiving many inquiries related to the pandemic, including requests for protection orders and assistance in family disputes that have intensified due to the multiple lock-downs and confinement of family members in their homes.

These inquiries include incidences of abuse within families; the ability of people in failing health to take care of their own affairs; questions concerning the management of property, both during the period of illness, and in matters related to inheritance after death. MARVA carries out many appointments online but also, when necessary, in-home visits using social distancing. These cases take many forms but nearly all have to do with the rights of the individual to a quality of life, as well as the individual’s dignity and independence.  

From the Field: Yosef, an elderly man, suffered from coronary heart disease. With the onset of COVID-19, he had severe difficulties in breathing, and his family received his HMO’s approval for home hospitalization so he could be cared for by his loved ones in the comfort of his own home. Unfortunately, as his health worsened, since Yosef was not legally competent to agree to this arrangement, he was rushed to the hospital. Realizing the end was near, the family asked MARVA to intervene so Yosef could spend his last days at home. MARVA attorneys received an urgent court order allowing Yosef to be returned to his home, where he spent several days surrounded by his family before he passed away. “We will always be thankful for MARVA’s prompt response to our request,” said Leah, Yosef’s daughter. “We knew how important it was to him to be at home under his family’s care in his last days, and MARVA made that possible.”