Mom filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. Dad filed a motion for declaratory judgment. The parties had a premarital agreement. Dad wanted the court to determine if the prenup was valid or not.
The Trial court declared the premarital agreement was valid. It was also enforceable. Dad filed a motion to reconsider. Dad did not believe the premarital agreement was valid. The Trial Court made a written order. There was no just reason to delay enforcement or appeal of the validity of the agreement. I reported last week that this sentence has to be in the order to appeal certain things while other things are pending in the court.
The appellate court held that prenup was valid. Except that you simply can’t have an agreement that the loser pays the winner’s attorney fees when it comes to child-related issues. This happens often. The parties try to deter the other from filing something about the kids.
The prenup language about the loser paying for the winner’s fees in child-related matters was not valid. You just can’t agree on it beforehand. It violates Illinois public policy. It discourages parents from pursuing litigation in their children’s best interests.
In re Marriage of Heinrich, 2014 IL App (2d) 121333.
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