Thursday, February 6, 2014

Be Careful with Settlement Agreements

Settling your Bloomington Illinois Divorce is almost always better than litigating. But, if you sign a Marital Settlement Agreement in Illinois, you had better be very careful as to what is, and is not, in that agreement, as this recent case from the Illinois Appellate Court points out:


In re Marriage of Chez (PDF)
Court properly found that joint property provision of parties' premarital agreement (PMA) was clear and unambiguous, even though it was silent on how to apportion costs in distribution upon dissolution. Parties, through PMA, agreed to opt out of coverage under Marriage Act and to set their own rules as to property. Court properly distributed two joint tenancy properties equally, and made no order of reimbursement of costs spent on one property, as PMA did not provide for it. Testimony of parties as to oral agreements is not relevant to interpretation of PMA, as PMA provides that any agreements as to real property must be written. (QUINN and PIERCE, concurring.)



Best Regards, 

Jon D. McLaughlin
Bloomington Law Group LLC
Flanagan State Bank Building
2401 East Washington Street
Bloomington Illinois 61704
Skype: jmclaug2

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