Collaborative Post-Nuptial Agreement Focused on Future Growth and Mutual Appreciation

Elyse Hughes (00:00) She's a very good listener and she asks a lot of questions because in the end, we all want the same result. Hello, my name is Elyse Hughes and I live in Lyle, Illinois, and I work in operations for a small private equity firm in Chicago. Olav Junttila (00:16) I'm Olav Junttila. I live in Lyle, Illinois. I work as COO of investment banking for a company called Molis. Elyse Hughes (00:24) We decided to put together a post-nuptial agreement after our wedding, and Olav's attorney referred her. What we both really liked is that she's an attorney, but she also functions as kind of like a counselor, a therapist. That made it very comfortable working with her Olav Junttila (00:41) She came at it with a very collaborative and compassionate view. And from day one, she really set out to create a safe atmosphere, an atmosphere where both of us felt that we could work together and feel that the outcomes was one that we would both be happy about. And she did a really good job at hearing us both out as we went through the process. Elyse Hughes (01:06) I agree. A very warm approach, which is, I don't think, very common when you're putting together a document like that. And very collaborative... and sensitive to what we were doing and what this whole process was going to be Well, one thing that I was very grateful for is she definitely listened to where both of us were coming from and what we wanted to gain out of this document. I moved from California to Illinois and gave up my life there, and helping raise Olav's children. She was to factor that in and into the document, and how everything should be One of the exercises that we would do, which I thought was really great, is right the beginning of our sessions, she would have us do these affirmations where we would tell each other what you appreciate about each other, what's important, and just as like, it's a really good exercise to get into. What we're here to do is, like, we're building a future together. This is just a small portion of it. And she definitely reiterated that. Like, this is about your future and you building a life together. Olav Junttila (02:06) We came to her with the intent of creating a document which you kind of hope you never actually have to go back to. And so she was good at Elyse Hughes (02:14) Yeah. Olav Junttila (02:17) focusing back on the fact that, let's start with where we are and what we actually want to achieve. And then let's go from there, as opposed to going straight to Elyse Hughes (02:25) Yeah. Olav Junttila (02:29) the situation where you might need this document, which is where none of us want to be. Elyse Hughes (02:33) I have already recommended her to a friend of mine that, she was very nervous about using an attorney and I "If this will be a somewhat smooth process, a mediator here's the way to go and I have someone who's fantastic." She just what is normally a very uncomfortable process. She made it easier, and made us both feel comfortable doing it. Olav Junttila (02:51) I agree with that. I think that we're both in agreement about the fact that we felt good about the process and the outcome ⁓ is a testament to her and her abilities. Elyse Hughes (02:52) Yeah. Right. Yeah.