Ketubot 81A

יורשיה יורשי כתובתה חייבין בקבורתה. אמר אביי, אף אנן נמי תנינא: אלמנה ניזונת מנכסי יתומין, ומעשה ידיה שלהן, ואין חייבין בקבורתה. יורשיה יורשי כתובתה חייבין בקבורתה, ואיזוהי אלמנה שיש לה שני יורשין? הוי אומר: זו שומרת יבם.

her heirs, i.e., the heirs of her marriage contract, are obligated in her burial. This indicates that her husband’s heirs, who inherit her marriage contract, must attend to her burial. Abaye said: We too learn in a Mishnah (95b): A widow is sustained from the property of the orphans, and her earnings are theirs, and they are not obligated in her burial. Instead, her heirs, the heirs of her marriage contract, are obligated in her burial. And who is the widow who has two sets of heirs, necessitating the ruling that only the heirs of her marriage contract are obligated in her burial? You must say that this is a widow waiting for her yavam, as the yavam inherits her marriage contract.

אמר רבא, ולימא: אח אני יורש. אשתו אין אני קובר. אמר ליה אביי: משום דבאין עליו משני צדדין: אם אחיו יורש ⁠— יקבור את אשתו. אם אינו קובר את אשתו ⁠— יתן כתובתה.

Rava said: But let the yavam say: I inherit my brother, and I am therefore entitled to this marriage contract as my brother’s heir, while his wife I am not obligated to bury, as I have no connection to her. Abaye said to him: This claim is not valid because they come upon him from two sides, by force of two complementary claims: If he inherits his brother he should inherit his duties as well as his rights, and he should bury his wife. If he does not bury his wife, as he does not wish to take his brother’s place, he should give her marriage contract to her.

אמר ליה, הכי קא אמינא: אח אני יורש, את אשתו אין אני קובר. ואי משום כתובה ⁠— לא ניתנה כתובה לגבות מחיים.

Rava said to him: I say as follows: The yavam claims that I inherit my brother, and his wife I will not bury, as this is not my responsibility. And if the brother should be responsible due to her marriage contract, a marriage contract cannot be collected during the husband’s lifetime but only after his death. The yavam is the first husband’s replacement, as he is prepared to perform levirate marriage with the woman, and therefore she is not entitled to her marriage contract, which means he is also not obligated to bury her. This assumption that a marriage contract may not be claimed during the husband’s lifetime is derived from a close reading of the wording of the marriage contract, which states: When you may marry another you may claim this marriage contract, which indicates that if the woman is unable to marry another man because her husband is still alive she is not entitled to her marriage contract.