In the State of Israel, the Rabbinical Court has the exclusive authority to discuss the issue of the ketubah, within the framework of its exclusive authority to order divorce.
In divorce proceedings in the rabbinical court, the judges turn to the woman and ask her, as is customary, whether she insists on her address - that is, demands to receive it.
Often, the woman answers in the negative, without giving the matter much thought, and in effect she is forgiving of her address.
In this article, I will clarify that the ketubah is a legal document for all intents and purposes - a kind of promissory note - in which the husband undertakes various obligations towards his wife - and if the wife has not lost her entitlement to the ketubah - she is entitled to receive the amount stated in it.
A. What does the ketubah include?
The ketubah includes the husband's duties towards his wife during the marriage, and in the event of divorce, and is intended, from a halachic perspective, to protect the wife from hasty divorce.
During marriage, the husband undertakes to support his wife, provide for her, respect her, and take care of her needs.
In addition, the husband is obligated to pay a certain amount, according to his decision, to his wife in the event of divorce.
B. What about the amount of the ketubah?
It is customary to ask the groom to write in the ketubah an amount that he can afford - in order to prevent a situation in which the parties end up getting divorced, the wife will stand by her address - but the husband will have no way to repay it.
If the couple comes to court and the judges are convinced that the amount involved is high and imaginary, they may order its reduction. However, if the court believes that the husband can bear the amount of the ketubah, even if it is high, they will not order its reduction, and the husband will have to pay this amount as part of the divorce terms, in order to be able to divorce.
I would like to point out that if we are talking about couples who married before the introduction of the new shekel currency, then there is a dispute about how to determine the updated amount. Some jurists believe that linkage to the current index should be carried out, and in this way it is actually possible to reach very high amounts, of hundreds of thousands of shekels.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that the same base amount should be taken - only in new shekels without linkage, so that, for example, if 10,000 old shekels is listed, then the woman is entitled to 10,000 new shekels.
There are courts that take a middle ground, and offer a compromise amount, depending on the circumstances of the case.
C. When is it still appropriate to give up the ketubah?
Sometimes, waiving the ketubah is the right move, within the overall framework of the divorce proceedings. For example, waiving the ketubah may be justified if the wife is interested in a quick divorce, and therefore does not want to waste unnecessary time on discussions about the ketubah.
Likewise, even in the case where the parties are in advanced negotiations for a comprehensive divorce agreement, in which the woman has accepted most of her demands - it is certainly possible that within the framework of the agreement it would be justified to state that the woman is giving up her address, in order not to "blow up" the agreement - everything of course depends on the circumstances, and when it is important to examine whether the woman will indeed be able to start Chapter Two of her life, it will begin smoothly, from an economic perspective.
(In this context, it should be noted that every divorce agreement must include a reference to the subject of the ketubah - whether the wife is completely entitled to it, or whether she is entitled to a certain amount to be determined in the agreement).
Therefore, it is appropriate that every woman who is entitled to write it be aware of its economic significance, within the framework of divorce proceedings, and not rush to waive it without further thought.
Nothing in this article is intended to replace or substitute for individual legal advice. Reliance on the information is the sole responsibility of the user.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
