Every year, thousands of American couples file for divorce. Ending your marriage can be one of the most emotionally trying times in your life, but sometimes a divorce can come with more than just emotional challenges. In the aftermath of a divorce, many people are left with a complete lack of financial security. In order to avoid this, you may wish to enter into a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that will ensure that your financial future will be intact, no matter what happens in your marriage. When preparing to secure the financial well-being of you and your family, it would be very wise to meet with a skilled family law attorney regarding a prenup or postnup. 

What a Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement Could Mean For You 

A prenuptial agreement is a private agreement made between a couple prior to their marriage. The agreement will explicitly define the manner in which the couple’s assets will be divided in the event of a divorce, and it may address other issues, such as spousal maintenance. Here in the state of Illinois, prenuptial agreements are defined under the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. According to Illinois state law, a prenup is only valid after both parties have signed and consented to the terms of the agreement. 

When a couple begins the divorce process, it is normal to experience a wide range of emotions. On one hand, a divorce can represent a new opportunity at happiness. On the other, a divorce is a separation from someone you once thought you would spend the rest of your life with. When children are involved, a divorce can be especially emotional. 

When it comes to divorce cases, some of the most contentious issues that can arise are those pertaining to a couple’s children. Before you are able to conclude your divorce, the court will want you and your soon-to-be ex to submit a mutually-agreed-upon, written parenting plan. This parenting plan should contain information about parenting time schedules, who has what decision-making rights, dealing with the child’s school holidays, and other issues pertaining to the child. If both parents cannot come to an agreement on a parenting plan, the court will make the parenting plan decisions for the parents.

Determining Factors

Illinois family law courts start out with the presumption that each parent is a fit parent and that no restrictions should be placed on his or her parenting time, unless it is found that the parenting time would endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. All decisions pertaining to the child need to be based on the child’s best interests. A number of factors are considered when determining parenting time, including:

Sometimes, even the so-called “simplest” divorces, where the parties have no children, can be stressful and tedious. But if you add children-related issues in a divorce, you have an entirely different set of issues which must be addressed before you can finalize your divorce. One of those issues is child support, which is a very important subject for many divorcing couples, especially if one parent has the children more often than the other. Child support is the financial obligation that both parents have to their children, and it is important that each parent pays his or her fair share.

Calculating the Basic Child Support Obligation

First, each parent’s monthly net income is calculated. Then, both of the parents’ net incomes are added together. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS) is the governing body that deals with child support calculations, and they periodically publish guidelines for calculating child support based on parents’ combined income. The IDHFS’s basic child support obligation table lists a child support obligation amount that corresponds with parents’ combined income and the number of children they have. This number is what the state of Illinois considers to be the total amount that parents at that income level are expected to provide for their children.

Divorces can sometimes be messy, long, and complicated. As a result, prenuptial agreements have become increasingly popular for many couples, since they can help avoid some of the issues that can make divorces more difficult. Contrary to what movies or television shows might have us believe, prenuptial agreements can be utilized by more than just the uber-wealthy. These agreements can be helpful for any couple, because they allow spouses to make decisions about how certain matters will be handled in the event of a divorce. 

While a prenuptial agreement can be beneficial for you and your spouse, it must follow specific legal rules about its content and format. If you do not follow these rules, your prenuptial agreement may not hold up in court. Here are a few reasons why your agreement may be found to be invalid in court: