1,776. Conditional Divorces

Hilchos Geirushin 8:1

If a man divorces his wife conditionally and the condition is met, then divorce effected; if the condition isn’t met, then divorce is not effected. The laws of conditions were explained in Hilchos Ishus chapter 6: if a man divorces his wife conditionally and the condition is met, divorce is effected as of the time the condition was met, not retroactive to when the get was given to her. Therefore, a man can cancel a get, amend his conditions or add additional conditions until the original condition is met. This is true even though she has already been given her get. If the man dies or the get is lost or destroyed before the condition is met, then divorce is not effected. A woman may not remarry until the condition of her get has been met but if she already remarried, she need not leave her new husband unless she cannot meet the condition. If the condition is invalidated, divorce is not granted. If a man tells his wife that divorce is effected as of a certain time or date based on some condition, then when the condition is met, divorce is effected retroactive to when she received the get. Therefore, once the get reaches the woman, the man can’t cancel the get, amend his conditions or add extra conditions. If the get is lost or destroyed before the condition is met, or even if the husband dies, she should fulfill the condition and divorce is effected retroactively. In this case, she may remarry before the condition is met; we are not concerned that she won’t fulfill the condition because it was given specifying that it was retroactive.

Hilchos Geirushin 8:2

If a man divorces his wife conditionally, regardless of whether he states that it’s effective as of a certain time or if he states “if yes, then X; if no, then Y,” he may not be secluded privately with his wife as long as the condition is pending. Rather, there should always be a witness present; a servant is sufficient for this purpose except for the woman’s own maid or her young son. This is because the woman might not be ashamed to act intimately in front of them. If the couple is secluded in front of two witnesses, the status of the divorce is thrown into doubt even if the condition was met. We assume that he was intimate with her, which voids a get as we shall see.