Download Illinois Postnuptial Agreement Form [PDF]

The Illinois postnuptial agreement is a legal document that the parties that are already in a marriage use to define their financial and non-financial relationship. The parties can use this document to define their relationship during the marriage and also to determine the rules of property division in case they get divorced.

The main difference between a postnuptial and prenuptial agreement lies in the moment the parties sign it. With a prenup agreement, the parties sign the agreement before getting married, while with a postnup agreement, the parties sign the agreement during the marriage.

The main advantage of the postnuptial agreement is that it can prevent potential misunderstandings and disputes between the parties and save them a lot of time and resources by preventing or shortening the divorce procedure.

Laws and Legal Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in Illinois

The laws and legal requirements for a postnuptial agreement in Illinois are outlined in several provisions of the state law, as well as in decisions of the Illinois courts. The main reason for this is that Illinois hasn’t adopted the Uniform Marital Agreement Act.

750 ILCS 5/503(a)(4) provides that property excluded by a valid agreement of the parties, including a postnuptial agreement, is considered to be non-marital property.

One of the most important court cases for the legality of the postnuptial agreement is In re Estate of Brosseau (1988). It provides that “a mutual release of property rights by a husband and wife is adequate consideration to support a post-nuptial agreement.”

Signing Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in Illinois

The state law sets two important signing requirements for the Illinois postnuptial agreement form:

The state law, however, doesn’t set notarization as a requirement for the postnuptial agreement form. Nevertheless, the parties should consider notarizing their agreement whenever possible since this additionally confirms the authenticity of the document and prevents potential fraudulent activities.

Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement in Illinois

The court will declare the postnuptial agreement unenforceable if one of the parties proves that the agreement is unconscionable.

The agreement can be declared unconscionable if it is signed under duress. Duress can include acts of oppression, undue influence, or taking undue advantage to the point where another spouse cannot exercise free will.

The court can also declare the postnuptial agreement unenforceable if one of the parties proves that the other party failed to present complete or truthful information about their financial status before signing the agreement.

What Can a Postnuptial Agreement in Illinois Cover?

The postnuptial agreement in Illinois can cover multiple aspects of the financial and non-financial relationship between the two spouses.

Below, you can see the most common provisions that are included in the postnuptial agreement template:

Postnuptial Agreement in Illinois: Validity Criteria

The postnuptial agreement will be considered invalid if it’s not made in written form. Moreover, the document will be considered invalid if it’s not signed by both spouses.

Additionally, the validity of the Illinois postnuptial agreement also depends on the validity of the marriage. This means that the parties can sign the postnuptial agreement only after they have entered the marriage.

The parties can also have multiple postnuptial agreements and regulate different aspects of their relationship. If this is the case, all postnuptial agreements will be considered valid.