1,599. When None of the Claimants Has Priority

Hilchos Ishus 17:3

If all the kesubahs and promissory notes owed by a man were dated as of the same day, or at the same time in a place where the practice is to include the time, then the property is divided equally among all the claimants with none of them taking priority. In any case, if one of the people owed money by the deceased seized movable property to pay the loan or the kesubah, it is not taken away from them because no creditor takes priority over any other when it comes to movable property.

Hilchos Ishus 17:4

Let’s say that a man divorces his wife while he has an outstanding debt, and the creditor and the ex-wife both come to collect what they’re owed. If the man has cash and real estate sufficient to pay all of his obligations, then the creditor should be given the cash and his ex-wife should be paid the value of her kesubah from the real estate. If all he has is real estate that is not sufficient to pay them both and neither claimant has a prior lien on this land, then it is given to the creditor and what remains is used to pay the ex-wife; if there’s nothing left, she must defer to the creditor. This is because the creditor took a loss by lending the deceased money but the woman didn’t because women generally want to be married more than men do.