1,593. A Statute of Limitations on the Kesubah

Hilchos Ishus 16:22

The previous halacha (about needing to produce the actual document in order to collect the value of a kesubah) only applies in a place where the practice is to record the kesubah in a document. In a place where the practice is not to record the kesubah in a document, we abide by the conditions set by the court. In such cases, the woman can collect the baseline amount of her kesubah without a document regardless of whether she was widowed or divorced, or whether she stayed in her husband's house or returned to her father's house. She cannot, however, receive anything else without proof.

Hilchos Ishus 16:23

In a place where the practice is not to record the kesubah in a document, a widow can collect the baseline amount of the kesubah as follows: if she remains in her husband's house, there is no time limit for her to collect but if she has returned to her father's house, she can collect for 25 years. If she comes to collect after 25 years, she is not paid because the assumption is that she has forgiven the debt; if this were not the case, she wouldn’t have remained silent for so long. Since she is living in her father’s house rather than with the heirs, the reason for her silence cannot be that she was embarrassed to sue them for money while living in the same home.