1,657. Transferring Iron Sheep Property From Wife to Husband

Hilchos Ishus 22:18

Pursuant to the previous halachos, if a woman sells or gives iron sheep property to her husband, he doesn’t acquire it, whether it’s real estate or movable property, a field that was designated for her to collect the value of her kesubah from, a field she owns that was specifically mentioned in her kesubah, or a field that her husband gave her. Even though her husband acquired it from her with her consent, she has the option to retract at any time because we assume that she only made such a transferal of property in order to promote peace in the home. Accordingly, a husband can only definitively acquire melug property from his wife, as per halacha 22:17.

Hilchos Ishus 22:19

The Rambam is of the opinion that if a woman’s iron sheep property is lost or stolen and she forgoes her husband paying for it, then she cannot later claim that she only did so in order to appease her husband. This is comparable to a man and a woman who made an agreement in which she waives his responsibility for iron sheep property, considering it to be melug property instead. In such cases, the husband doesn’t bring proof in order to take or retain possession of property; he just wants to free himself of the obligation to pay the money that his wife will try to claim. However, if she gives him movable iron sheep property, he doesn’t acquire it because in that case she can claim that she only did so in order to appease her husband.