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Reintroducing The Shtar Chatzi Zachar

8) If the daughter dies in her father’s lifetime and leaves no children

The standard Shtar Chatzi Zochor contained a clause that stated if the daughter should die in her father’s lifetime and leave no children of her own, the debt is cancelled. This was added because the father did not want to his estate to end up in the hands of anyone other than his direct descendants, and if the daughter would die without children, in the absence of the aforementioned clause her husband would inherit the right to claim the Shtar Chatzi Zochor.

If the woman did leave a son, who died before her father, the Remo”h[48] quotes the Mahar”i Weil as ruling that the woman’s husband inherits the Shtar Chatzi Zochor. Although it is fairly certain that the father would not have admitted to the debt had he known that it would result in his property going to someone outside his immediate descendants, nonetheless we do not use the concept of Umdenoh – an assumption – if it contradicts a man’s own admission.[49] The Chelkas Mechokek[50] therefore advises that the Shtar Chatzi Zochor should state explicitly that the debt is annulled if the daughter should die in her father’s lifetime and leave no children alive at the time that her father should die.[51]

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