Can a wife claim her ketubah payment in an Israeli divorce?

The ketubah is the marriage contract signed at a Jewish wedding, in which the husband commits to a defined sum payable to the wife if the marriage ends in divorce or with his death. Because it is a genuine contractual undertaking, the Rabbinical Court treats it as an enforceable debt, not merely a ceremonial document. The claim is heard by the same religious court that grants the Get, the Jewish religious divorce, and the court applies Jewish law to decide whether and how much is owed. Conduct matters: a wife found to have caused the breakdown without justification, or whose behavior amounts to grounds recognized in Jewish law, may have her ketubah reduced or forfeited, while a husband at fault is generally held to the full sum.

In practice the ketubah claim runs alongside the civil division of property, which in Israel is handled under the resource-balancing rules. Rabbinical courts are alert to the risk of double payment, so a wife who already received a large share of the marital assets may see her ketubah award tempered to avoid duplicating the same value. For couples married abroad or living overseas, the ketubah is only relevant where the marriage was a Jewish religious marriage and the Rabbinical Court has jurisdiction over the divorce. A foreign spouse should obtain the original ketubah, confirm the stated amount, and take advice on how a ketubah claim interacts with any parallel asset-division proceeding before deciding where to litigate.

From the full guide: The Get: Religious Divorce in Israel Explained

← Browse all Q&A