In re Marriage of Cooper
Iowa Supreme Court
769 N.W.2d 582 (2009)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Bernard Cooper (defendant) and Vergestene Cooper (plaintiff) were married. Vergestene caught Bernard cheating on her. As a result, the Coopers signed a postnuptial reconciliation agreement, under which Bernard agreed that if he was unfaithful to Vergestene again, he would accept fault in a divorce proceeding and pay Vergestene household expenses, maintain life insurance and family health insurance, pay the education expenses of the Coopers’ daughter, and pay Vergestene one-half of all future retirement payments that Bernard received. Bernard continued his affair after signing the agreement. Vergestene filed a petition for divorce and introduced the reconciliation agreement into evidence. The district court found the agreement to be valid and ordered its enforcement in granting divorce to Vergestene. The appeals court reversed the district court's property distribution, holding that the agreement was not enforceable because it violated public policy. The Iowa Supreme Court granted review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Appel, J.)
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