Kesubos 4:12-5:1

Kesubos 4:12

If a man neglected to write in the kesubah that his wife will live in his home and be supported from his estate as long as she is his widow, he is nevertheless so obligated because that’s the rule that the courts enacted. This was the condition as written into the kesubah in Jerusalem and the Galilee, but in Judah the condition was that the widow would be supported until the heirs pay her the value of her kesubah, after which they could send her away.

Kesubos 5:1

While the courts set the kesubah of a virgin at 200 zuz and that of a widow at 100, that’s a minimum, not a maximum. A man is permitted to add to the kesubah even 100 zuz or more. If a woman was widowed or divorced, whether from betrothal or marriage, she collects the entire amount. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says that a woman only collects the entire amount when widowed or divorced from marriage; if widowed or divorced from betrothal, a virgin receives 200 zuz and a widow receives 100 because the extra money was only written into the kesubah as an incentive to marry him (which didn’t happen). If the man wants, he can write a kesubah for 200 for a virgin or 100 for a widow and she can write a receipt that she was paid half the amount (even though she wasn’t really paid anything at all – in this way, they are effectively agreeing upon a lower value for the kesubah). Rabbi Meir says that any attempt to reduce the value of the kesubah renders it invalid and the relationship a form of promiscuity.