In re Marriage of Saul
Case Analysis
Overview
In In re Marriage of Saul , 2026 IL App (5th) 250503-U, the Fifth District affirmed the denial of a former husband's section 2-1401 petition seeking to vacate or terminate a maintenance in gross obligation contained in the parties' marital settlement agreement (MSA). The court held the MSA's express language rendered the obligation nonmodifiable and in the nature of a property settlement, so neither the payor's reduced income nor the payee's cohabitation permitted modification or termination.
Key Facts
Parties married in 2013; three minor children; Watkins petitioned for dissolution in December 2021.
Temporary order (May 2022) found Saul's monthly income at approximately $41,288 and Watkins' at $2,383; temporary maintenance of $8,692.17/month and child support of $2,244/month were ordered.
November 21, 2022 judgment of dissolution incorporated an MSA signed by both parties; the court found it entered freely and voluntarily, equitable, and not unconscionable.
The MSA required "lump sum maintenance in gross in the amount of $290,688.00 payable in 48 monthly installments of $6,056.00," expressly stating it was "a vested interest which shall be non-modifiable and, as in the nature of a property settlement, shall not terminate regardless of a change in circumstances for either party or the existence of any otherwise terminating events."
Child support of $2,044/month deviated downward due to the maintenance obligation, subject to reassessment upon satisfaction of maintenance.
Saul filed repeated motions to vacate, modify, suspend, or terminate maintenance, citing job loss, reduced income, and Watkins' cohabitation with her fiancé.
Saul's own prior pleadings admitted he learned of the cohabitation shortly after signing the MSA, or as early as May 2022; the section 2-1401 petition was not filed until May 23, 2025.
Saul accrued substantial child support and maintenance arrearages and was found in willful indirect civil contempt (July 8, 2025) for failing to turn over bonuses held in escrow.
Procedural History
Madison County circuit court (No. 21-D-988, Judge Maureen D. Schuette). Following multiple denied motions to modify or vacate maintenance, the trial court denied Saul's section 2-1401 petition on June 3, 2025, finding the relief had already been litigated and denied by final order. Saul appealed pro se to the Appellate Court, Fifth District.
Holdings
The maintenance in gross provision was nonmodifiable and in the nature of a property settlement based on the MSA's clear and unambiguous language; MSA interpretation reviewed de novo . Affirmed.
Denial of the section 2-1401 petition affirmed; reviewed de novo (dismissal/judgment on the pleadings in a 2-1401 proceeding). Saul failed to plead facts showing coercion, duress, or fraud, and failed to establish due diligence in either the original action or in presenting the petition.
Judicial bias claim rejected: no petition for substitution of judge, only conclusory allegations, and adverse or allegedly erroneous rulings alone do not establish bias.
Cohabitation did not require or permit termination of the nonmodifiable maintenance in gross obligation.
Res judicata argument forfeited as conclusory and unsupported by authority.
Legal Principles
750 ILCS 5/502(f) : parties may make maintenance nonmodifiable in amount, duration, or both; property provisions are never modifiable. 750 ILCS 5/502(b) : agreed terms bind the court absent unconscionability.
In re Marriage of Freeman , 106 Ill. 2d 290, 298 (1985): "maintenance in gross" means "a non-modifiable sum certain to be received by the former spouse regardless of changes in circumstances."
Blum v. Koster , 235 Ill. 2d 21, 42 (2009): maintenance in gross may be paid periodically or in a lump sum.
In re Marriage of Michaelson , 359 Ill. App. 3d 706, 711-12: MSA interpretation is contract construction; maintenance in gross is in the nature of a property settlement creating a vested interest.
In re Marriage of Farrell , 2017 IL App (1st) 170611, ¶ 12 (judgment and MSA construed as one; de novo review); BMO Harris Bank v. Porter ; In re Estate of Tacher (whole-contract construction).
Cavitt v. Repel and In re Marriage of Streur : 2-1401 elements—meritorious claim/defense, due diligence in the original action, due diligence in filing the petition.
Foutch v. O'Bryant , 99 Ill. 2d 389: incomplete record construed against appellant; trial court presumed to have acted lawfully.
Eychaner v. Gross , 202 Ill. 2d 228, 280: rulings alone almost never support a bias claim.
Practical Implications
Drafting matters: language reciting a "vested interest," "non-modifiable," "in the nature of a property settlement," and "shall not terminate regardless of a change in circumstances or any otherwise terminating events" is potent and will be enforced against section 510 termination events.
Clarifies that installment payment of maintenance in gross does not convert it into modifiable periodic maintenance—maintenance in gross and property settlement are not mutually exclusive.
Modifiability of other MSA provisions (e.g., child support reassessment, tax exemptions) does not infect an expressly nonmodifiable maintenance clause.
2-1401 practice: attach an affidavit, plead specific facts for each element, and file promptly—a payor's own earlier pleadings admitting knowledge of cohabitation will defeat due diligence and "newly discovered" fact claims.
Bias claims require a timely substitution-of-judge petition plus evidence of extrajudicial or conduct-based prejudice; conclusory allegations fail.
Always secure transcripts, a bystander's report, or an agreed statement of facts; Foutch gaps are dispositive.
Distinguishing factors for future cases: absence of the "vested interest/non-modifiable" language, a finding of unconscionability under section 502(b), or a genuinely new, diligently presented fact.
Limitations/Caveats
This is a Rule 23(b) order (2026 IL App (5th) 250503-U), not precedential except as permitted by Rule 23(e)(1); cite for persuasive value only. The core holdings are the nonmodifiability of the maintenance in gross provision and the failure of the 2-1401 petition. The observations about the trial court's motivation for modifying the tax exemption provision and the court's remark regarding daily motion practice are contextual, not holdings. The alternative analysis assuming arguendo adequate pleading of duress/fraud is dicta supporting the due-diligence holding.
Overview
In In re Marriage of Saul , 2026 IL App (5th) 250503-U, the Fifth District affirmed the denial of a former husband's section 2-1401 petition seeking to vacate or terminate a maintenance in gross obligation contained in the parties' marital settlement agreement (MSA). The court held the MSA's express language rendered the obligation nonmodifiable and in the nature of a property settlement, so neither the payor's reduced income nor the payee's cohabitation permitted modification or termination.
Key Facts
Parties married in 2013; three minor children; Watkins petitioned for dissolution in December 2021.
Temporary order (May 2022) found Saul's monthly income at approximately $41,288 and Watkins' at $2,383; temporary maintenance of $8,692.17/month and child support of $2,244/month were ordered.
November 21, 2022 judgment of dissolution incorporated an MSA signed by both parties; the court found it entered freely and voluntarily, equitable, and not unconscionable.
The MSA required "lump sum maintenance in gross in the amount of $290,688.00 payable in 48 monthly installments of $6,056.00," expressly stating it was "a vested interest which shall be non-modifiable and, as in the nature of a property settlement, shall not terminate regardless of a change in circumstances for either party or the existence of any otherwise terminating events."
Child support of $2,044/month deviated downward due to the maintenance obligation, subject to reassessment upon satisfaction of maintenance.
Saul filed repeated motions to vacate, modify, suspend, or terminate maintenance, citing job loss, reduced income, and Watkins' cohabitation with her fiancé.
Saul's own prior pleadings admitted he learned of the cohabitation shortly after signing the MSA, or as early as May 2022; the section 2-1401 petition was not filed until May 23, 2025.
Saul accrued substantial child support and maintenance arrearages and was found in willful indirect civil contempt (July 8, 2025) for failing to turn over bonuses held in escrow.
Procedural History
Madison County circuit court (No. 21-D-988, Judge Maureen D. Schuette). Following multiple denied motions to modify or vacate maintenance, the trial court denied Saul's section 2-1401 petition on June 3, 2025, finding the relief had already been litigated and denied by final order. Saul appealed pro se to the Appellate Court, Fifth District.
Holdings
The maintenance in gross provision was nonmodifiable and in the nature of a property settlement based on the MSA's clear and unambiguous language; MSA interpretation reviewed de novo . Affirmed.
Denial of the section 2-1401 petition affirmed; reviewed de novo (dismissal/judgment on the pleadings in a 2-1401 proceeding). Saul failed to plead facts showing coercion, duress, or fraud, and failed to establish due diligence in either the original action or in presenting the petition.
Judicial bias claim rejected: no petition for substitution of judge, only conclusory allegations, and adverse or allegedly erroneous rulings alone do not establish bias.
Cohabitation did not require or permit termination of the nonmodifiable maintenance in gross obligation.
Res judicata argument forfeited as conclusory and unsupported by authority.
Legal Principles
750 ILCS 5/502(f) : parties may make maintenance nonmodifiable in amount, duration, or both; property provisions are never modifiable. 750 ILCS 5/502(b) : agreed terms bind the court absent unconscionability.
In re Marriage of Freeman , 106 Ill. 2d 290, 298 (1985): "maintenance in gross" means "a non-modifiable sum certain to be received by the former spouse regardless of changes in circumstances."
Blum v. Koster , 235 Ill. 2d 21, 42 (2009): maintenance in gross may be paid periodically or in a lump sum.
In re Marriage of Michaelson , 359 Ill. App. 3d 706, 711-12: MSA interpretation is contract construction; maintenance in gross is in the nature of a property settlement creating a vested interest.
In re Marriage of Farrell , 2017 IL App (1st) 170611, ¶ 12 (judgment and MSA construed as one; de novo review); BMO Harris Bank v. Porter ; In re Estate of Tacher (whole-contract construction).
Cavitt v. Repel and In re Marriage of Streur : 2-1401 elements—meritorious claim/defense, due diligence in the original action, due diligence in filing the petition.
Foutch v. O'Bryant , 99 Ill. 2d 389: incomplete record construed against appellant; trial court presumed to have acted lawfully.
Eychaner v. Gross , 202 Ill. 2d 228, 280: rulings alone almost never support a bias claim.
Practical Implications
Drafting matters: language reciting a "vested interest," "non-modifiable," "in the nature of a property settlement," and "shall not terminate regardless of a change in circumstances or any otherwise terminating events" is potent and will be enforced against section 510 termination events.
Clarifies that installment payment of maintenance in gross does not convert it into modifiable periodic maintenance—maintenance in gross and property settlement are not mutually exclusive.
Modifiability of other MSA provisions (e.g., child support reassessment, tax exemptions) does not infect an expressly nonmodifiable maintenance clause.
2-1401 practice: attach an affidavit, plead specific facts for each element, and file promptly—a payor's own earlier pleadings admitting knowledge of cohabitation will defeat due diligence and "newly discovered" fact claims.
Bias claims require a timely substitution-of-judge petition plus evidence of extrajudicial or conduct-based prejudice; conclusory allegations fail.
Always secure transcripts, a bystander's report, or an agreed statement of facts; Foutch gaps are dispositive.
Distinguishing factors for future cases: absence of the "vested interest/non-modifiable" language, a finding of unconscionability under section 502(b), or a genuinely new, diligently presented fact.
Limitations/Caveats
This is a Rule 23(b) order (2026 IL App (5th) 250503-U), not precedential except as permitted by Rule 23(e)(1); cite for persuasive value only. The core holdings are the nonmodifiability of the maintenance in gross provision and the failure of the 2-1401 petition. The observations about the trial court's motivation for modifying the tax exemption provision and the court's remark regarding daily motion practice are contextual, not holdings. The alternative analysis assuming arguendo adequate pleading of duress/fraud is dicta supporting the due-diligence holding.
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