1,834. A Woman Who Claims to Be Divorced

Hilchos Geirushin 12:1

If a woman says that she was married but is now divorced, she is taken at her word. This is because she provided both the statement that prohibited her and the one that permitted her. However, if there’s an existing presumption that she’s married, her statement that her husband divorced her is insufficient to enable her to remarry, though it is sufficient to disqualify her from ever marrying a kohein. If her husband dies, we are concerned that her statement may have been accurate so she performs chalitzah (the shoe-removal ceremony) rather than yibum (levirate marriage).

Hilchos Geirushin 12:2

If two witnesses attest that a woman has been divorced, she is permitted to marry outright even if she doesn’t have her get. If she produces a get and says that her husband divorced her with it, she is taken at her word and permitted to marry even if the signatures on the get have not been validated.