Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Maintenance
Marital settlement agreement (MSA) incorporated into judgment of dissolution provided that husband was to pay $10,000 in maintenance for 6 years. Wife filed petition to modify maintenance award due to substantial change in circumstances, and court granted petition and ordered maintenance of $3,000 per month. MSA did not specify whether maintenance award was periodic or in gross, and did not specify a total sum. Court did not err in modifying maintenance award, given absence of specific language in MSA that award in gross was intended, and as maintenance in gross is the exception rather than the rule. (HUTCHINSON and ZENOFF, concurring.)