Here are some of the benefits of prenuptial agreements: Prenuptial agreements can help you plan your financial situation and they save on litigation fees in case you divorce later, but they need to be done right. Experienced Illinois family law attorneys at Wolfe & Stec, Ltd. have helped countless people with marriage and family issues. We advise and accompany you at every step of the wedding process and answer all your questions. The experienced spousal support lawyers at Brown & Charbonneau, LLP, have extensive experience in assisting clients in defending the disability of spousal contract provisions related to spousal support. To learn more about how we can help you and to have a lawyer by your side who can help you fight for a support order that is not based on prenup, call us at 866-237-8129 or contact us online. However, spousal support may be determined on the basis of a marriage contract, but only in certain circumstances. According to article 1612 of the Code: „Any provision of a prenuptial contract relating to spousal support, including but not limited to the waiver thereof, is not enforceable if the party against whom enforcement of the spousal support provision is sought was not represented by independent counsel at the time of signing the agreement containing the provision or if the support provision of the spouse was not represented by an independent lawyer at the time of execution. is unscrupulous. 9.
They are always unfair. Prenups do not give the less wealthy women credit for raising children and sacrificing employment opportunities to support the household. What can happen is that the wife has children, takes care of the house and has a limited career, while the husband spends much of his time earning money. In some agreements, he may spend most of his time developing and cultivating his separate property, which is protected from her, while devoting all his efforts to marriage. This is a very destructive situation. In addition, prenups disrupt the balance of power in a marriage and often give the wealthy spouse all the power to decide what he wants in order to share the property with the less wealthy spouses and let that spouse control all the financial and business decisions that a couple normally shares. Prenups often even pretend to eliminate all spousal support, even if the marriage breaks down after 30 or 40 years. What if, by joint decision, the woman of those years was a wife and mother who stayed at home? She helped the family; he took assets and his efforts for himself.
In most prenups (with the exception of the ones I get my hands on), the spouse waives all of his or her matrimonial inheritance rights. Thus, even in an ongoing marriage, she can be completely disinherited, without recourse. This is simply unfair. Since prenuptial agreements are legally binding, you cannot change your mind and try to withdraw from the agreement because you have not read or understood what you have signed. An experienced family law lawyer can help you make sure you don`t make mistakes, that your rights are protected, and that you`ve reached a fair agreement on how to separate property and manage finances and issues in the event of divorce. 2. They lack consideration. Contracts are binding when each person gives something to the contract and gets something. Think.
You pay a store for a pair of shoes. You get the shoes. This is called „consideration“, which forms the basis of contract law. In a marriage contract, consideration is often lacking. The less wealthy spouse usually gives most of their legally provided matrimonial rights to the money-hungry spouse. The right to marry the other (although given in the prenup as „consideration“) is based on reciprocity. They both get married – so part of them is the same. The less wealthy spouse gives more. On the other hand, where is the consideration of compensating for this? This severe imbalance is present in almost all prenups. In addition, prenups are often „skipped“ on the less well-off spouse if not after the engagement has been fixed, often after the sending of invitations 5.
Lawyers who promote prenuptial agreements for first marriages have no sensitivity to the destruction they cause. Lawyers who enter into marriage contracts typically come from three areas of practice: business lawyers, estate planning lawyers, and family and divorce lawyers. There is a culture around the design of marriage contracts that has developed mainly due to the fact that they are designed (and initiated) by lawyers who represent rich people (or rich relatives). If you look at the literature on the Internet, with the exception of my articles, they are positive and clear for prenuptial agreements as a way to „reduce risk“. This is their only focus, not on thoughts about support or care for the upcoming wedding. In my opinion, it is not a good legal profession. Ask the lawyers they design for their rich if they have one themselves. The vast majority do not. The old phrase „What is good for the goose is good for the gander“ comes to mind. The experienced and compassionate Illinois family law attorneys at Wolfe & Stec, Ltd.
know that a marriage contract is an important part of good planning and does not need to be offensive or punitive. We offer free advice on professional advice on marriage contracts or other family law matters. An essential part of my legal practice is a constant flow of marriage contracts for clients who get married. In general (but not always) I represent the least wealthy spouse. It is (usually) presented with the concept as a limited means, for example, to protect the property of the fiancé (or his parents). One way or another, this turns into a comprehensive financial treaty that significantly restricts their matrimonial rights and has far-reaching implications for the future. Don`t get me wrong – I`m in favor of prenuptial agreements in second marriages, especially if there are children from the first marriage. But many of the marriage contracts I see are for first marriages and are unfair, ill-conceived and very destructive.
„If someone wants to start a business with their family who doesn`t want to be a matrimonial property, or if someone wants to stop working during the marriage but wants financial security to give up future career prospects – the parties can still sign a remarriage contract if and when it makes sense to do so,“ said Frawley and Pollock. Let`s look at the example of Bill Gates. By the way, after scouring the internet, I couldn`t find any evidence that Bill and Melinda Gates had signed a prenuptial agreement before getting married. Perhaps that`s the reason, despite Bill`s wealth, that their marriage is enduring and was a true partnership. But that evening, our friends, who were also engaged, could no longer contradict us and made all the usual arguments for prenups. They believed that the smart way to enter marriage was to always have a backup plan. Like an earthquake kit, you hope you never need it, but you live your life with more security when you know it`s there. They also argued that it could prevent a possible divorce from entering the ugly territory where both parties are looking for blood. In some cases, I agree that a prenup may be appropriate, especially for second marriages, which are more likely to fail and can create particularly difficult circumstances if there are children from a previous marriage. But in most cases, prenupes are more harmful than beneficial.
I could say that our friends thought we were naïve because they thought we were special or different, just like all the millions of other couples who thought they were special or different and then divorced, sometimes in a bitter way. But my argument against prenups is not because I think I`m immune to divorce. On the contrary, I think it`s a good idea not to have a prenup, even for couples who are divorcing, because the act of getting one is inherently harmful to relationships. If you have entered into a prenuptial agreement in which you waived spousal support or agreed to accept only a limited amount of support, you may not want the terms of the agreement to apply at the time of your divorce. In some cases, it is possible to argue that a marriage contract should not be controlling. However, you must have a very strong argument to explain why the contract should not be followed. The experienced spousal support lawyers at Brown & Charbonneau, LLP can help you argue against applying the terms of a prenup for assistance. The truth is that marriage is not only a romantic relationship, but also a kind of business relationship. This dual nature and purpose of marriage has led to an increased recognition that a marriage contract (also called prenup) can be useful in protecting the financial interests of each spouse. That is, if you did not have your own lawyer who represented you at the time of signing the marriage contract, all the provisions it contains regarding spousal support will not be enforced. .