It preserves that wealth that they’ve taken so much time to build. People who get married later on in life and have assets to protect, have a career that they’ve built, have the income to protect, might want to consider entering into a prenuptial agreement. As people get married later on life, they’ve established themselves in careers. Prenuptial agreements can suit all types of clients depending upon what their needs are. Katy: There are a lot of misconceptions that prenuptial agreements are only for the wealthy. Katy, in your opinion, based on what you’ve seen over the years, who needs a prenuptial agreement? Is it the person walking off the street, someone who owns a business? How would I know going into a marriage whether or not I should consider having my fiancé sign a prenuptial agreement? This is like an estate plan on steroids.” A prenuptial agreement can do a lot of things that an estate plan can’t do in the state of Illinois, whereby you can alter how the law impacts a case beyond what it would otherwise provide for.
I always tell my clients if they come to see me, “This is how you enhance an estate plan. Some people consider it an estate planning tool. At the end of the day, it is a tool to plan. The other part of it is helping to plan for upon death if the parties are still married.ĭo they want to protect assets that they acquired or have rights that existed prior to the marriage or that they may acquire rights to after the date of the marriage? Is there a family business, etc.? People come to us with a variety of different reasons why they may want a prenuptial agreement. The one that most people are familiar with, which is helping them plan for upon a divorce. There are two pieces or parts to a prenuptial agreement as far as the directions they go. There is no form that we use that works for everybody. Its goals are different for every client that comes to us. Tom: A prenuptial agreement is a contract at the beginning and the end of the day. Tom, let’s start this off and talk about what is a prenuptial agreement? A prenuptial agreement is a contract at the beginning and at the end of the day. As I’ve heard from both of you before, it doesn’t have to be a sensitive topic. I also grew up in the North Shore, a city over from Tom in Glencoe. I went to law school straight at Chicago-Kent and did that for three years. I did a career switch right before I turned 30. After being at school, I went and did public relations for about seven years. I went to the University of Michigan and graduated in 1995. I started out as a law clerk at Beermann and now I’m a partner. I’ve been here since I was licensed in 2005. I’m the head of our Matrimonial Practice here at Beermann. I have a wife and two boys that I’m raising in the city. I live in the city despite having grown up on the North Shore. What makes me a little bit different in our area of law is not only do I have a law degree but I have an MBA in Finance as well. I am a product of the local area having grown up in Highland Park and stayed local for college down in Champaign as well as grad school back up here in Chicago. Tom: I’ve been practicing law since 2001. Tom/Katy, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
On this episode, we are talking about prenuptial agreements with Beermann Divorce and Family Law Attorneys, Tom Field and Katy Mickelson, who both have a wealth of experience working on all types of divorce talks. Our CMO, Sandra Napoli-D’Arco, asks questions that get the attorneys talking about everything they know and have experienced throughout their years of being divorce lawyers. Listen to the podcast here: Agreeing On A Prenuptial Agreement Field and Kathryn Homburger Mickelson, who both have a wealth of experience working on all types of divorce talks, in this particular case, prenuptial agreements. On this episode, we are talking about prenuptial agreements with Beermann Divorce and Family Law Partners, Thomas T. It could also be for someone who has a significant amount of family wealth.
They might want to consider entering into a prenuptial agreement because it preserves that wealth that they’ve taken so much time to build. As people get married later on life, they’ve established themselves in careers or have assets to protect. Prenuptial agreements can suit all types of clients depending upon their needs. There are a lot of misconceptions that prenuptial agreements are only for the wealthy.