1,716. Divorcing a Minor

Hilchos Geirushin 2:17

If a man married with full faculties but he later lost the ability to hear and speak, he cannot divorce his wife until he recovers; it goes without saying that this is also the case for a man who loses his mental faculties. We do not divorce a woman based on the gestures or writing of a husband who cannot hear and speak, not even if he is of sound mind. However, if a man with congenital deafness married a woman, he may divorce her by making gestures because their marriage is only effected by rabbinic legislation. Just as he married her through gestures, so may he divorce her through gestures.

Hilchos Geirushin 2:18

If a man betroths a minor through her father and wants to divorce her while she’s still a minor, her father receives the get for her; she is divorced when her father takes possession of the get. If the husband wants to divorce her while she’s a naarah (i.e., between the ages of 12 and 12½), the divorce is effected when either she or her father takes possession of the get. A betrothed naarah cannot appoint an agent to accept her get so long as her father is alive. A father, however, can appoint an agent to receive the get for his betrothed daughter who is either a minor or a naarah.