One of the most stressful aspects of any divorce is often property division. At Johnson & Johnson, Attorneys at Law, we know that resolving these issues as quickly and fairly as possible is your top priority. There are certain measures that can help to simplify the process, such as having a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
While some people view such agreements as callous or even calculating, the truth is that they can protect you from losing valuable assets should you and your spouse choose to divorce. According to the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, these agreements can address the following issues:
- Alimony payments
- A spouse’s agreement to create a will that administers the terms of the agreement
- Rights to a death benefit from a life insurance policy
- A spouse’s ability to use, sell, manage, dispose of or transfer property
A key benefit to these agreements is that they can be amended at any time as long as both spouses sign off on the changes. It is important to note that you are not able to include any information regarding child support or child custody in a prenuptial contract.
To make sure your agreement is enforceable, you should put it in writing and have the signatures of both spouses. We recommend that you keep a list of all assets and debts with the agreement as proof that both parties were aware of the other’s financial situation when entering into the contract.
Judges will typically uphold these agreements unless spouses can prove they entered into the contract unwillingly or that the terms are severely unfair because they did not receive an accurate picture of a party’s financial situation.
For more information on this topic, please visit our page on prenuptial agreements.
