Complete financial disclosure
Each partner shares a clear picture of assets, income, and obligations, and that disclosure is attached to the agreement. It is one of the strongest protections against a later challenge.
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
Clarity before the vows, and after them.
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is not a forecast about the marriage. It is a decision two people make together, in a calm moment, about what each brings, what they will build, and how both will be treated. Beth forms the right team for each agreement, based on what the client needs and the strengths of her colleagues, so the agreement protects the relationship as well as the assets.
Whether you are bringing a business or family wealth into the marriage, or you are the partner being asked to sign, Beth’s team makes sure you understand exactly what the agreement does, and what it does not.
Prenuptial Agreements
The conversation is easier when it starts early.
In Illinois, a prenuptial agreement must be in writing and signed by both partners. It can address property each of you owns now and property you acquire later, how that property is managed, what happens to it at divorce or death, spousal support, life insurance, and which state’s law will apply.
Timing matters as much as the terms. An agreement presented in the final weeks before the wedding, with invitations sent and deposits paid, invites a later claim that it was not signed freely. Beth encourages clients to begin months ahead, so both partners have time to review the financial disclosure, ask questions, and negotiate without a date pressing on them.
What Makes an Agreement Hold
An agreement is only as strong as the way it was made.
An attorney for each partner
Illinois does not require separate counsel, but independent advice is one of the clearest signs that both people understood the agreement and chose it freely.
Time to consider
Drafts are exchanged well before the wedding, with room for questions, revisions, and the conversations that make an agreement feel shared rather than imposed.
What an Agreement Can Address
Written around what you have, and what you plan to build.
A family business or professional practice
Ownership, control, and continuity, including whether growth during the marriage is shared and how the agreement fits with existing shareholder or operating agreements.
Property owned before the marriage
How premarital assets, their income, and their growth will be treated, and what happens if separate and joint funds are ever mixed.
Trusts, gifts, and inheritances
Protection for family wealth received now or expected later, coordinated with the estate planning attorneys who designed the family’s plan.
Equity and executive compensation
Stock options, restricted stock, deferred compensation, and bonuses, including how awards earned before and during the marriage will be divided.
Spousal support
Terms that modify or waive maintenance, drafted with an eye to how Illinois courts treat those provisions years later.
Privacy
Confidentiality terms that keep the agreement, and the financial details behind it, private.
An agreement cannot limit a child’s right to support, and decisions about children are made based on their best interests at the time.
Beth’s Approach
Negotiated with respect, because you are marrying the other side.
A prenuptial negotiation is unlike any other. The person across the table is the person you are about to marry, and the way the agreement is negotiated will be remembered long after the terms are signed. Beth and her team draw on decades of collaborative practice to keep the process candid, measured, and free of unnecessary friction, while protecting the client’s position with precision.
She works alongside the professionals already advising the couple, such as financial advisors, accountants, and estate planning attorneys, and some couples include a therapist to help with the harder conversations. The goal is an agreement both partners understand, can honor, and never have to revisit in a courtroom.
Postnuptial Agreements
When the marriage changes, the agreement can, too.
A postnuptial agreement is signed after the wedding. Illinois has no statute written specifically for them, so courts review them under contract principles, looking closely at whether each spouse had a real choice and whether the terms are fair enough to enforce. Full disclosure and separate counsel matter just as much as they do before the wedding.
Beth has written about postnuptial agreements for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, including how one can offer some couples a thoughtful alternative to separation.
Couples often consider one when:
- A business is launched, acquired, or brought into the family
- An inheritance or significant gift arrives, or is expected
- Assets are reorganized or the estate plan is restructured
- One spouse steps back from a career, or relocates, for the family
- A couple reconciling after a difficult period wants a clear financial footing
- An existing prenuptial agreement needs to be updated, which in Illinois requires a new written agreement signed by both spouses
Questions
What couples ask before they sign.
When should we start a prenuptial agreement?
As early as you can, and ideally several months before the wedding. Starting early gives both partners time to gather and review financial disclosure, consult their own attorneys, and negotiate without the pressure of a date. An agreement that was clearly considered over time is much harder to challenge later.
Do we each need our own attorney?
Illinois does not require it, but Beth strongly recommends it. Beth’s team represents one partner, and the other partner should have an attorney of their own. When each partner has independent advice, the agreement is far more likely to reflect a genuine meeting of the minds and to hold up if it is ever questioned.
Can a prenuptial agreement decide custody or child support?
No. Illinois law does not allow a premarital agreement to reduce a child’s right to support, and decisions about parenting are made based on the child’s best interests when those decisions arise. An agreement can address property, income, and spousal support between the partners themselves.
Will anyone else see our agreement?
A prenuptial agreement is a private contract between the two of you. If it ever becomes part of a divorce, portions may come before the court, which is why Beth’s team includes confidentiality terms and drafts with privacy in mind from the start.
Can we change our agreement after we marry?
Yes. In Illinois, a premarital agreement can be amended or revoked after the wedding only by a written agreement signed by both spouses. Many couples revisit their agreement after a major change, such as the arrival of children, a business sale, or an inheritance.
These answers provide general information about Illinois law and are not legal advice. Reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every matter depends on its specific facts.
“Please don’t mistakecollaborative for stupid.”
Begin while there is time to do it well.
Beth’s office can arrange a private first conversation about what your agreement should cover, and how to raise it with your partner.
Contacting Beth’s office does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation is subject to conflicts checks and formal engagement procedures.