1,823. Who Must Perform Refusal?

Hilchos Geirushin 11:7

A minor need only perform refusal in certain cases. If she was betrothed between the ages of six and ten, her level of comprehension is examined. If she knows to guard the money with which she was betrothed, understands the reason it was given to her, and guards it differently from the way she would guard produce, then refusal is necessary to dissolve the marital bond. If she doesn’t know to guard the money, she need not perform refusal to annul the marriage; she can simply return to her mother's home as if she had never been betrothed. If she was betrothed under the age of six, then she doesn’t require refusal even if she has complete comprehension. If she is older than ten, she must perform refusal even if she is incompetent. If a minor orphan girl’s brother, mother or other relatives arranged a marriage for her without telling her the groom’s identity, then refusal is unnecessary.

Hilchos Geirushin 11:8

Refusal is performed as follows: the girl tells two witnesses that she no longer desires husband, Mr. X., or that she no longer wants to be betrothed to the one whom her mother or brother betrothed her, or some similar statement. This is so even if the two witnesses are guests eating in her husband’s home and she’s serving them. If she tells them that she no longer desires her husband, Mr. X, she has performed refusal.