There are several reasons that older Illinois couples entering a second marriage might want a prenuptial agreement. They may be bringing more assets into the marriage than a younger couple, and they also may want to make sure their children from the previous marriage still get some assets. A prenup can help a couple plan for retirement and even for what type of divorce they will have.
If there is a disparity in a couple’s retirement savings, they may want to specify how they will structure distributions. The couple may also want to make provisions to ensure that the lower-earning spouse will walk away with some retirement savings if there is a divorce. Couples may want their prenup to state that they wish to resolve a divorce using a method such as mediation or arbitration instead of litigation.
Couples might want to discuss how much they plan to help adult children financially. They may also want to specify the terms of the estate plans they will draw up after the marriage. For example, assets can be placed in a trust that will pay money to the surviving spouse and then to the children after the death of the spouse. While these may all be good reasons to create a prenup, couples should also be aware that raising the issue could cause conflict.
A prenuptial agreement is not necessarily airtight. If one person claims to have been coerced or to have received insufficient legal counsel, or if the judge believes the agreement is unfair, it might be declared invalid. However, many prenups do hold up in court and can make the divorce process less difficult.