Cases involving family law issues can be very complicated, and there are some situations where the decisions made in family court may be challenged by one of the parties involved. During an appeal, a person may argue that errors were made during the original case and that the decisions were based on an incorrect interpretation of the law. Appeals are usually only needed in extraordinary circumstances, but they may be necessary to ensure that a person is treated fairly.

Not all appeals are successful, and unfortunately, appellate court judges sometimes make decisions that may be viewed as unfair and unjust by those who were involved in a case. Attorney Amanda Oliver recently represented a client in an appeal involving the enforceability of a postnuptial agreement, and while the court ruled against her client, the case illustrates some of the issues that may be addressed when these types of matters are contested. The case in question involved a high net worth divorce, in which the wife wished to leave a marriage with a husband that she claimed was emotionally abusive. The husband convinced the wife to sign a one-sided postnuptial agreement, and after the wife filed for divorce, the husband took action to enforce this agreement. The wife argued that the agreement should not be enforceable because it was unconscionable, or grossly unfair. However, the trial court ruled against the wife and upheld the terms of the agreement.

The wife made multiple arguments detailing why the agreement was unfair, including that it provided her with only a small fraction of the couple’s marital estate. Under the agreement, the wife received a property settlement in return for waiving a claim to spousal maintenance, and while the husband kept the couple’s marital home, the wife received several hundred thousand dollars that could be used to purchase a new residence. However, the husband ended up keeping the majority of other assets, including real estate investment properties, retirement accounts, vehicles, cash funds, and investment accounts. 

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Most divorce cases involve a variety of complex legal issues and financial concerns. However, cases in which a couple has children can often become even more complicated. In addition to addressing their individual desires and financial needs, parents will need to determine how to handle child custody going forward. Since divorcing spouses will often disagree about these issues, they may need to resolve contentious disputes. Each parent will likely be concerned about where their children will live, when the children will be able to spend time with them, and how they will make decisions about how children will be raised. During their divorce, spouses will need to create a parenting plan that fully details the decisions made regarding these issues.

Matters related to your children are some of the most important issues that you will need to deal with during your divorce. To make sure you are making the right decisions and taking the correct steps to protect your parental rights and provide for your children’s needs, you can work with a skilled and experienced family law attorney. At the law firm of Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, we provide our clients with strong representation, ensuring that they are fully prepared to address child-related issues correctly during the divorce process. We will work with you to make sure your parenting plan will meet your family’s needs and protect your children’s best interests.

Addressing Legal and Physical Custody

Divorcing parents will need to determine how they will share custody of their children after dissolving their marriage. If they are able to complete an uncontested divorce, they will negotiate a parenting plan that will be included in their divorce settlement. If they are unable to reach a settlement, and divorce litigation will be required to resolve any outstanding issues, they may ask a judge to make the final decisions and finalize the details of their parenting plan.

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Prenuptial agreements: Are any other legal documents subject to more controversy and misunderstanding? Prenuptial agreements, also called premarital agreements or “prenups,” are legal contracts that a couple signs before getting married. Many people grossly misunderstand the purpose of a prenuptial agreement. They assume that only couples who do not believe in the longevity of their marriage would sign a prenuptial agreement or that prenups are only used by wealthy husbands to prevent their wives from pocketing their wealth.

In reality, drafting a mutually beneficial prenuptial agreement is one of the most responsible and practical steps you can take before getting married. Prenups serve a wide range of purposes, including protecting both spouses’ property rights, avoiding stressful litigation in the event of divorce, and describing how property should be distributed if a spouse passes away.

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The time leading up to your wedding can be a joyous and happy time, while simultaneously a stressful and overwhelming experience for many people. In the days and months leading up to your wedding, you likely have event planning things on your mind, such as picking out the color of the table linens or making a final determination for the guest list. What many people do not think about before they get married is the financial aspect of things. When you get married to another person, you are suddenly financially intertwined with that person and are subject to things such as property division and spousal support in the event you were to ever get divorced. One way to protect your financial health is by signing a prenuptial agreement before you tie the knot. Prenuptial agreements used to carry a negative social stigma, but more people have begun to see their benefits in the past several years.

Prenuptial Agreements are Becoming More Commonplace Among Couples

Just as Bob Dylan once sang in one of his most famous songs, “the times they are-a changin’,” the marital landscape in the United States is also changing. Not too long ago, many people thought it was unsavory or tacky to get a prenuptial agreement before they were married. After all, why would you make plans for the end of the marriage before the marriage has even begun? In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in prenuptial agreements, especially among younger couples. According to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, around 62 percent of lawyers who responded reported that they saw an increase of prenuptial agreements between 2013 and 2016, while about half of them reported that they saw an increase in prenuptial agreements among millennials, specifically.

There are a couple of possible reasons for this surge in prenuptial agreements. First, the divorce rate in the United States has greatly increased over the past couple of decades. Depending on the source you consult, the current divorce rate is anywhere between 40 and 50 percent. Second, people are waiting to get married until they are older and consequently have accumulated more assets and property that they need to protect. The average age of individuals when they go to get married for the first time has increased significantly over the past 50 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average age a man was first married increased from 23.2 in 1970 to 30.3 in 2019, while the average age of a woman at her first marriage increased from 20.8 to 28.4, respectively.

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When a couple decides to get married, they usually agree to share what they own. If the marriage were to end in divorce, the marital estate is divided under the equitable distribution doctrine. Unlike community property states, which divide the couple's assets in a 50/50 division, Illinois law says the couple's assets need to be divided equitably based on certain factors. Some of these factors include:

• How long the couple was married
• Each spouse's contribution to the marital estate
• The value of the assets
• What each spouse's financial circumstances will be after the divorce
• Tax implications
• Whether spousal support will be paid

One factor that usually supersedes all other factors is whether the couple had a valid prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract entered into by the couple prior to the marriage which stipulates how assets and property will be divided in the event the couple divorces. The agreement can also address any outstanding debt the couple has and spousal support/maintenance. Although it is recommended that every couple draw up a prenuptial agreement before the wedding, many couples choose not to. The good news for those couples is that Illinois law also recognizes postnuptial agreements. Postnuptial agreements address the same terms and/or issues that prenuptial agreements do. The only difference is that the agreement is entered into at some point after the couple has married.

Reasons Why Married Couples Choose to Sign a Postnuptial Agreement

In certain marital situations, signing a postnuptial agreement is highly recommended. Typically, postnuptial agreements are established because of the following:

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