In re Marriage of Giles

554 N.E.2d 714, 197 Ill. App. 3d 421, 143 Ill. Dec. 779, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 584
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 26, 1990
DocketNo. 5—88—0657
StatusPublished

This text of 554 N.E.2d 714 (In re Marriage of Giles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Marriage of Giles, 554 N.E.2d 714, 197 Ill. App. 3d 421, 143 Ill. Dec. 779, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 584 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE LEWIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

William Giles, petitioner herein, appeals from an order of the circuit court granting the motion of his former wife, Lena Giles, the respondent, to dismiss his petition to terminate maintenance payable to her. At issue is whether the conditions governing the termination of maintenance set forth in the parties’ marital settlement agreement approved by the trial court supersede the statutory provision concerning termination of maintenance set forth in section 510 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, par. 510) (hereafter referred to as the Act).

On January 16, 1985, the trial court entered a judgment of dissolution of the marriage of the parties in which it expressly approved the property settlement and support agreement into which the parties had entered the day before. The property settlement and support agreement provides that during his lifetime the petitioner shall pay the respondent the sum of 50% of his net income each month, which monthly sum shall be not less than $500 nor more than $1,000. The agreement provides further that “[s]aid monthly support and maintenance shall continue to be paid by First Party [petitioner] until the death or remarriage of Second Party [respondent].” On June 27, 1988, the petitioner filed his petition to terminate spousal maintenance, alleging that on March 11, 1988, the respondent had commenced cohabitation with a certain man on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis that had continued until the date of the filing of the petition. Petitioner alleged further that section 510(b) of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, par. 510(b)) provides that cohabitation on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis constitutes grounds for termination of spousal maintenance and sought termination of his obligation to pay spousal maintenance.

Section 510(b) provides:

“Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance, or if the party receiving maintenance cohabits with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis.”

We note that, effective July 1, 1988, subparagraph (b) of section 510 was redesignated as subparagraph (c). (Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 40, par. 510, Historical Note, at 175 (Smith-Hurd Supp. 1989).) In her motion to dismiss the petition, the respondent alleged that the parties’ property settlement and support agreement set forth the exclusive conditions for the termination of maintenance. Respondent alleged that the provisions of section 510(b) can be superseded where the parties have not included a provision in the written agreement that maintenance shall cease if the wife cohabits with another person on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis and that in this case the parties “otherwise agreed” to the exclusive reasons for termination of maintenance.

A hearing was held on the respondent’s motion to dismiss at which the petitioner called two witnesses, namely, the respondent and Thomas E. Doyle, the attorney who had represented petitioner during the proceedings pertaining to the dissolution of the marriage. Respondent testified that at the time the marital settlement argument was entered into she did not discuss with her attorney anything about cohabitation with another person. Thomas Doyle testified with regard to the drafting of the marital settlement agreement that he and the respondent’s attorney had worked on it “together” and that the subject of cohabitation was not ever discussed.

The property settlement and support agreement provides as follows in paragraph one:

“THAT each of the parties is fully and completely informed of the financial and personal status of the other, and that each of them has had the advise [sic] of counsel, First Party having had the advise [sic] of counsel of his attorneys, TAYLOR, DOYLE, AND FRALEY, Attorneys at Law, Taylorville, Illinois, and the Second Party has had the advise [sic] and counsel of her attorney, JOHN V. FREEMAN, Attorney at Law, Shelbyville, Illinois, and that each of said parties has given full and mature thought toward the making of this agreement and of all their respective obligations, rights and duties contained herein, and that each of said parties understand [sic] that the agreement and obligations assumed by the other are assumed with the express understanding and agreement that they are in full and complete satisfaction of all the obligations which each of the said parties now has or might hereafter [sic] toward the other.”

The agreement is signed by both of the parties.

In an entry on the record sheet the trial court found that, contrary to the assertions of the petitioner, the case of In re Marriage of Tucker (1986), 148 Ill. App. 3d 1097, 500 N.E.2d 578, applies to the instant one and granted the respondent’s motion to dismiss. This appeal followed. Without setting forth a statement of the issue presented for review, petitioner contends on appeal that a party cannot waive the statutory right to termination of spousal maintenance pursuant to section 510(b) of the Act for the reason of cohabitation without specific mention of the right waived and a clear showing of the intent to waive that right. Petitioner argues that, in the absence of discussion of cohabitation as a basis for termination of maintenance, he could not have intended to waive that right and that the trial court’s ruling that the property settlement and support agreement contained the exclusive basis for termination of spousal maintenance should accordingly be reversed.

In Tucker a written separation agreement between the parties, which provided in part for the former wife’s maintenance and support, was ordered to be incorporated by reference into the judgment for dissolution of the parties’ marriage. Thereafter the former husband filed a petition to terminate maintenance for the reason that the former wife was cohabiting with another person on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis in violation of section 510(b) of the Act. The separation agreement in Tucker provided that maintenance payments were to continue “ ‘until the first to happen’ ” (emphasis in original) (Tucker, 148 Ill. App. 3d at 1098, 500 N.E.2d at 579) of three listed events: the death of the former wife, her remarriage, or payment by the former husband of the 121st monthly installment. The court in Tucker determined that the agreement set forth exclusive conditions for the termination of maintenance that took precedence over the provisions of the Act pertaining to termination of maintenance. The court observed that the parties had entered into an agreement providing for the termination of maintenance payments only upon the former wife’s death or remarriage or at the end of 10 years and that the court had approved the agreement and had ordered it incorporated into the judgment for dissolution. The Tucker court concluded that the provisions of the agreement showed clearly that the parties did not intend to have the provisions of section 510(b) pertaining to termination of maintenance apply and that cohabitation was not a condition for termination of maintenance under the settlement agreement.

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Related

In Re Marriage of Tucker
500 N.E.2d 578 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1986)
In re Marriage of Popovich
500 N.E.2d 1109 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1986)
In re Marriage of Arvin
540 N.E.2d 919 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
554 N.E.2d 714, 197 Ill. App. 3d 421, 143 Ill. Dec. 779, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-giles-illappct-1990.