1,585. Collecting a Kesubah from Movable Property

Hilchos Ishus 16:6

Another leniency regarding paying a kesubah is that a woman receives payment in the less-valuable currency. In other words, if a couple married in one country and divorced in another, he may pay her in the currency of either land, whichever is less valuable. This is only the case when the kesubah doesn’t specify a currency; if a particular currency is specified for the baseline value of the kesubah or the additional amount, then the law is the same as when one person lends another a specific form of currency, i.e., it must be repaid in the same currency. (This will be covered IY”H when we come to the laws of loans.)

Hilchos Ishus 16:7

All the Gaonim ruled that after a man’s death, a woman can collect the value of her kesubah from movable property, and they ruled likewise for a creditor collecting his debts. This ruling was accepted by the majority of the people. The other conditions of a kesubah follow the same rules as the baseline amount so they may also be collected from movable property in addition to real estate with one exception: the ability of sons to inherit their mother's kesubah. Since granting them this right was not universally accepted, the Rambam believes that the law as stated in the Talmud remains in effect and they may only collect the value of their mother’s kesubah from real estate.