Responsa for Bava Batra 316:3
<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> נפל הבית עליו ועל אמו אלו ואלו מודין שיחלוקו אמר ר"ע מודה אני בזו שהנכסים בחזקתן אמר לו בן עזאי על חלוקין אנו מצטערין אלא שבאת לחלק עלינו את השוין:
AND HIS MOTHER,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In her widowhood. Her heirs (e.g.. her brothers) plead that the son died first and that, consequently, his mother inherited his estate before she died, and they now inherit it from her, while his heirs (e.g., his paternal brothers) plead that the reverse had happened and that they, therefore, are entitled to the inheritance. ');"><sup>6</sup></span> BOTH<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'these and these', Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel who are in disagreement on the cases in the Mishnah, supra 157a and 158a. ');"><sup>7</sup></span> AGREE THAT [THE ESTATE IN DISPUTE] IS TO BE DIVIDED.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Unlike the case of a father and son (Mishnah supra 157a), where one party claims possession as heirs and the other as creditors, or the case of a husband and wife (Mishnah. supra 158a), where certain kinds of property are in the legal ownership of the husband while others are in that of the wife, the case in our Mishnah deals with claims both of which are of equal strength, both being based on the right of inheritance, the widow being acknowledged as the undisputed possessor of the estate, the only point in doubt being whether the one party or the other is to be heir. As the equality of the claims leaves the question of ownership in equal doubt on either side, both schools are of the unanimous opinion that the estate in dispute must be divided. ');"><sup>8</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
After protracted litigation, the widow (of Speyer) and her levirs finally came to court and chose their judges. These judges asked the opinion of R. Meir who put them off and advised them to ask the great (Jewish) leaders of the Kingdom (Germany) regarding the ordinances passed by the communities affecting the relations of a widow and her levirs. The leaders all agreed that after the rite of halitzah is performed, one half of the husband's estate belongs to the widow and one half to the levirs. R. Meir states that he knows no further details regarding these laws of the communities, and renders the following decision in accordance with talmudic law:
A. If A's widow, three months after his death refuses to undergo the rite of halitzah or marry her levir, she is to be considered as a rebellious wife and all of A's property is to be taken away from her, except that which she has brought in as a dowry, upon her marriage to A. If, however, she consents to undergo the rite of halitzah, she receives half of A's property, as is the Takkanah of the communities. From this amount is deducted the sum she admits, under oath, to have wasted, lost, and given away as presents, while A was alive and after his death.
SOURCES: Pr. 563; Mord. Yeb. 23. Cf. Terumat Hadeshen 220; Isserlein, Pesakim 262; ibid. 263; ibid. 264.