1,625. When a Man Predeceases His Wives

Hilchos Ishus 19:8

Let’s say that a man had two wives, he had sons with both of them, and then he predeceased them. If the wives later died after taking the oath required of widows to collect the value of their kesubahs, then each son is entitled to inherit his mother’s kesubah based on the Torah’s inheritance laws rather than based on the rabbinic condition. Accordingly, it doesn’t matter in such cases whether the value of the estate exceeds that of the kesubahs or not. The sons of the wife married first precede those of the wife married later. If neither of the wives took the oath, then the sons of both wives divide the estate equally among them. Neither can inherit his mother’s kesubah because a widow can’t collect her kesubah without taking the oath.

Hilchos Ishus 19:9

If one of the widows took the oath and the other one didn’t, then the sons of the one who took the oath inherit their mother’s kesubah, after which the balance of the estate is divided equally among all the sons. When a son inherits the kesubah of his mother who predeceased his father, he cannot seize property that was sold to others; he can only inherit property that is still in the possession of the estate.