A spouse’s name was changed. How does it affect the kesubah?

514. A spouse’s name was changed. How does it affect the kesubah?

The kesubah, the document a husband accords his wife which details her marital rights, is an essential part of the marriage ceremony. The kesubah must contain the full names of the couple, and their names must be spelled correctly.

Contemporary poskim have raised the question of what happens if a spouse’s name has been changed over the course of the marriage—whether due to an illness, G-d forbid, or some other reason—which results in the kesubah no longer being accurate. Oddly, this issue does not seem to have been addressed in previous generations.

There are four differing halachic opinions as to what should be done:

Have a new kesubah written, using the special text for a kesubah d’ishtakach bah ta’usa (a kesubah that was found to have a mistake in it).

Have a new kesubah written with a special text containing the information that a name was added.

Simply add the new information at the bottom of the original kesubah and have two kosher witnesses sign it.

There’s no need to do anything since the kesubah was correct at the time that it was 

Due to the differences of opinion, a rav should be consulted if this issue arises. 

https://halacha2go.com?number=514

Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.