cellio | daf bit: Ketubot 101

Today's daf presents an interesting mishna. If a man married a wife and she made an arrangement with him that he would maintain her daughter (from a previous marriage) for five years, he must maintain the daughter for five years no matter what. If he divorces his wife during the five years he still must maintain. If his ex-wife remarried and made the same arrangement with her new husband the first still must maintain to the full amount. He is not allowed to say "if she comes to live in my house I will maintain her"; rather, he must send the money to her care of his ex-wife. And if the daughter who is being maintained should marry during the five years, that doesn't end the obligation either. Should the husband die, the ex's daughter has a greater claim on his assets than his own daughters do (during the maintenance period); the daughter he promised to maintain has the legal status of a creditor. This mishna ends by noting: "prudent men used to write:¹ '...on condition that I shall maintain your daughter for five years while you continue to live with me'". (101b)

¹ The g'mara says that this applies to verbal promises, so for "write" read also "say".