1,616. Designating Land to Pay a Widow's Maintenance

Hilchos Ishus 18:18

If a man verbally designates a particular piece of land to be used for his wife’s maintenance should he predecease her, then he has also granted her other rights regarding her maintenance. If the income generated by the property is insufficient to cover her maintenance, she is entitled to receive the rest of the money from elsewhere in his estate. If the money is still insufficient, she’s entitled to all the property. However, if he tells her that her maintenance will come from that particular plot (the implication being exclusively) and she remains silent, then that piece of land is her only source of income towards her maintenance.

Hilchos Ishus 18:19

Some authorities ruled that when a widow comes to the court to claim her maintenance, it should be given to her without requiring an oath. This opinion should not be followed because they have confused it with the case of a woman whose husband has traveled overseas. The Rambam’s teachers ruled that a widow is not awarded her maintenance until she has taken an oath in court. This is because she is coming to collect from property currently in the possession of her husband’s heirs and one who wants to collects property in the possession of heirs can only do so after taking an oath. The Rambam agrees with his teachers’ evaluation of the situation.