1,537. The Extent of a Husband's Claim

Hilchos Ishus 11:15

If the couple went into seclusion together, the husband may only contest the wife’s virginity immediately after. If they were not secluded together, he has 30 days.

Hilchos Ishus 11:16

All the authorities agree that the Sages’ statement about accepting the husband's claim even though the wife disputes it only applies to nullifying his obligation to pay the baseline amount of the kesubah; the wife is still entitled to the additional amount unless there is solid proof that she was not a virgin, or if she admitted that she had not been a virgin when he consecrated her and she intentionally misled him. Therefore, the husband may impose an oath upon her while she holds a sacred object (like a Torah) as is the case whenever someone must take an oath in order to collect money. After doing so, she may collect the additional amount of her kesubah. The wife, however, cannot impose an oath that the husband found her to be a non-virgin before she loses the baseline amount of the kesubah because of the aforementioned legal presumption that a person won’t go to the trouble of making a wedding feast only to ruin it.