23CA1280 Marriage of Bailey 03-06-2025
COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS
Court of Appeals No. 23CA1280 Jefferson County District Court No. 21DR30933 Honorable Jack W. Berryhill, Judge
In re the Marriage of
Charlene M. Bailey,
Appellee and Cross-Appellant,
and
David E. Bailey,
Appellant and Cross-Appellee.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS
Division III Opinion by JUDGE TOW Dunn and Graham*, JJ., concur
NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced March 6, 2025
Belzer Law, Aaron B. Belzer, Ashlee N. Hoffman, Boulder, Colorado; Stahly Miner, LLC, Todd A. Stahly, J.P. Prentiss, Denver, Colorado, for Appellee and Cross-Appellant
Caplan & Earnest, LLC, Andrew C. Littman, Craig A. Weinberg, Boulder, Colorado, for Appellant and Cross-Appellee
*Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2024. ¶1 David E. Bailey (husband) appeals the permanent orders
entered on the dissolution of his marriage to Charlene M. Bailey
(wife). He argues that the trial court erred by holding that the
parties’ premarital agreement (PMA) was invalid and otherwise
unenforceable. Wife cross-appeals the trial court’s division of the
marital property, asserting that the court erred in its valuation of
husband’s business. We affirm the judgment as to wife’s cross-
appeal, reverse the judgment as to husband’s appeal, and remand
for further proceedings.
I. Background
¶2 The parties married in 2006. In January 2000, over six years
before their marriage, wife executed the PMA, which already bore
husband’s signature when it was presented to her. At the time, the
parties had been in a relationship for approximately five years. Wife
testified that while the parties had previously discussed entering
into a premarital agreement, it had been a source of disagreement
in their relationship because she adamantly opposed such an
agreement.
¶3 According to wife, husband presented the PMA to her shortly
after the parties had moved together into a new house, and his
1 presentation of the PMA resulted in a significant argument. While
wife initially refused to sign, she testified that over the course of the
argument, husband became “angry” and was “personally attacking”
her. She asserted that she was not afforded any time to read the
PMA, discuss it with an attorney, or review certain handwritten
annotations that husband had made on the document. After an
hour of arguing, wife angrily signed the PMA on a page titled,
“Statement of Counsel,” which contained signature blocks for the
parties’ respective attorneys to acknowledge the PMA. The PMA was
not notarized, and the signature block for wife’s signature was left
blank.
¶4 Wife explained that she eventually signed because husband
would not stop “pressuring” and “badgering” her to sign, and she
“needed to get out of the situation” because she was afraid husband
would “snap.” Exhibits where the parties could provide financial
disclosures were left blank. However, wife acknowledged that she
had been generally aware of husband’s finances before the parties
were married.
¶5 The dissolution proceedings were bifurcated. After an initial
hearing on the validity of the PMA, the trial court held that the PMA
2 was neither valid nor enforceable under Colorado law based on
“procedural unconscionability” surrounding the PMA’s execution.
¶6 At the hearing on the division of the marital property, the
parties called multiple expert witnesses to opine on the premarital
and present value of husband’s interest in his family’s longstanding
business, Erie County Investment Co. (Erie). The trial court
ultimately adopted, with minor alterations, the valuations proposed
by husband’s experts. Accordingly, the trial court found that
husband’s separate, premarital interest in Erie was worth
$19,355,581 and his present interest in Erie was worth
$21,754,061, meaning that there was a $2,398,480 increase in the
value of Erie that qualified as marital property, which the court
allocated.
II. Husband’s Appeal Concerning the Validity and Enforceability of the PMA
¶7 Husband’s sole contention on appeal is that the trial court
erred by refusing to enforce the PMA. Because we agree that the
trial court strayed from the applicable legal standards and
otherwise made insufficient factual findings, we conclude that
further proceedings are necessary.
3 A. The Colorado Marital Agreement Act
¶8 Because the PMA was executed by wife in 2000, the Colorado
Marital Agreement Act (CMAA) applies. See § 14-2-310, C.R.S.
2000 (providing that the CMAA is applicable to all premarital
agreements signed after July 1, 1986); § 14-2-303, C.R.S. 2024
(applying the later, Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act
to all premarital agreements signed after July 1, 2014).
¶9 Under the CMAA, a marital or premarital agreement must be
in writing and signed by both parties. § 14-2-303, C.R.S. 2000.
However, a premarital agreement is not otherwise enforceable if the
party opposing enforcement proves (1) that “[s]uch party did not
execute the agreement . . . voluntarily” or (2) that “[b]efore execution
of the agreement . . . such party was not provided a fair and
reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the
other party.” § 14-2-307(1), C.R.S. 2000; In re Marriage of Goldin,
923 P.2d 376, 380 (Colo. App. 1996) (“Absent involuntary execution
or unfair and unreasonable disclosure . . . , a marital agreement is
enforceable.”).
¶ 10 While the CMAA does not define “voluntarily,” or what
constitutes a “fair and reasonable disclosure,” see § 14-2-307(1),
4 C.R.S. 2000, the supreme court has explained that “[t]he General
Assembly’s overriding intent in passing the CMAA was to codify
Colorado’s common law regarding marital agreements.” In re
Marriage of Ikeler, 161 P.3d 663, 668 (Colo. 2007). Thus, we may
look to Colorado cases concerning premarital agreements that
predate the CMAA to inform our interpretation of the statute. See
id.
¶ 11 We review the trial court’s interpretation of the CMAA and its
other conclusions of law de novo. Id. at 666. In interpreting the
CMAA, we first look to the language of the statute and afford the
words their plain and ordinary meanings, and we must consider the
statute as a whole and interpret it in order to give consistent,
harmonious, and sensible effect to all its parts. Id. at 666-67. If
the language in the statute is clear, it must be applied as written.
In re Marriage of Zander, 2019 COA 149, ¶ 12, aff’d, 2021 CO 12.
¶ 12 We defer to the trial court’s factual findings unless they are
clearly erroneous, meaning that there is no evidence to support
them. In re Marriage of Dean, 2017 COA 51, ¶ 8. However, the
court must make findings of fact and conclusions of law sufficiently
5 explicit to give us a clear understanding of the basis of its order.
See C.R.C.P. 52; In re Marriage of Gibbs, 2019 COA 104, ¶ 9.
B. Discussion
1. The Trial Court’s Order
¶ 13 In its written order invalidating the PMA, the trial court cited
the CMAA and acknowledged that a premarital agreement is invalid
if not executed voluntarily or if there was not adequate disclosure of
the parties’ respective property and finances. But the trial court,
relying primarily on secondary sources and foreign authority,
invalidated the PMA based on “procedural unconscionability” at the
time of its execution.
¶ 14 The trial court reasoned that while wife in fact signed the PMA,
she did not sign it intelligently or knowingly. The court cited the
fact that wife was unrepresented, and the “anger and emotional
turmoil” surrounding the PMA’s presentation to her “without any
prior explanation to her of [its] contents and provisions.”
¶ 15 The trial court also expressed concern that wife received
inadequate financial disclosures because there was no evidence as
to what information she had received and as to when she received
it, especially given the PMA’s blank disclosure exhibits. Based on
6 the totality of the circumstances surrounding the PMA’s execution,
the court concluded that “such defective procedures” made the PMA
“unconscionable and unenforceable.” Because the court concluded
that the circumstances surrounding the PMA’s execution were
unconscionable, it did not review the substance of the document for
unconscionability.
2. The PMA Constituted a Premarital Agreement
¶ 16 As an initial matter, we reject wife’s assertion that we should
affirm because the PMA did not constitute a “marital agreement” as
defined by the CMAA, making it unenforceable. In its written order,
the trial court questioned, without deciding, whether the PMA in
fact constituted a marital agreement.
¶ 17 The CMAA defines a marital agreement as “an agreement . . .
between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage.”
§ 14-2-302(1), C.R.S. 2000. Wife argues that the PMA was not
“made in contemplation of marriage.” But the PMA unambiguously
states that the parties “may contemplate marriage to each other,”
and that the parties desired that “their cohabitation and possible
marriage shall not in any way change their current legal rights.”
We conclude that such language sufficiently establishes that the
7 PMA was “made in contemplation of marriage” and, thus, the CMAA
applies.
¶ 18 Wife cites In re Marriage of Green, 169 P.3d 202, 203 (Colo.
App. 2007), where the court declined to enforce an agreement under
the CMAA because the parties were not contemplating marriage.
But Green is distinguishable because the agreement there only
stated that the parties intended “to live together” and did not
reference marriage in any way. See id. Consequently, we conclude
that the PMA falls within the definition of a “marital agreement” in
section 14-2-302(1), C.R.S. 2000, and we proceed to consider
husband’s argument that the trial court otherwise erred by
invalidating the PMA.
3. Further Findings Are Required on Whether Wife Executed the PMA “Voluntarily”
¶ 19 Husband argues that the trial court erred by invalidating the
PMA based on “procedural unconscionability” because such a
defense to enforcement of a premarital agreement is not found
within the CMAA. We agree.
¶ 20 Section 14-2-307, C.R.S. 2000, contains only three defenses to
the enforcement of a premarital agreement: (1) that the agreement
8 was not executed voluntarily; (2) that the party opposing
enforcement did not receive “fair and reasonable” disclosure of the
other party’s property or financial obligations; and (3) that, at the
time of enforcement, the agreement’s provisions as to spousal
maintenance are unconscionable. See § 14-2-307(1), (2), C.R.S.
2000. The inclusion of these specific statutory defenses suggests to
us that the legislature intended the enumerated defenses to be the
exclusive defenses to the enforcement of a premarital agreement.
See Beeghly v. Mack, 20 P.3d 610, 613 (Colo. 2001) (recognizing
that under the canon of statutory interpretation expressio unius est
exclusio alterius, omissions from a statute are given the same effect
as inclusions, meaning that the inclusion of certain items implies
the exclusion of others).
¶ 21 Accordingly, we conclude that the defense of “procedural
unconscionability,” which is not found in section 14-2-307, C.R.S.
2000, was not a basis for invalidating the PMA. See Beeghly, 20
P.3d at 613; Zander, ¶ 12. And because the court invalidated the
PMA based on procedural unconscionability, it never decided
whether wife executed the PMA voluntarily under section 14-2-
307(1), C.R.S. 2000. Indeed, we cannot locate any place in the
9 relevant order where the court explicitly found that the PMA was
either voluntarily or involuntarily executed by wife. Therefore, we
remand the case for findings on whether the PMA was entered into
voluntarily.
¶ 22 That being said, we reject husband’s claim that, as a matter of
law, wife “voluntarily” signed the agreement merely because she
“intended” to sign it. Rather, whether wife voluntarily entered into
the agreement is a factual inquiry that must be left to the trial court
to decide in the first instance, applying traditional concepts of
voluntariness as the court identified in its original order.
¶ 23 Moreover, because of the trial court’s erroneous application of
the law to declare the PMA unenforceable, it never analyzed
whether the provisions of the agreement regarding maintenance
would be unconscionable at the time of enforcement. See § 14-2-
307(2), C.R.S. 2000. Thus, if the court determines on remand that
wife voluntarily executed the PMA, it must consider that partial
defense to the enforceability of the agreement. We express no
opinion on the outcome of either analysis.
10 4. Wife’s General Knowledge of Husband’s Finances Was Sufficient
¶ 24 Husband next argues that the trial court erred in holding that
he had not sufficiently disclosed his financial information to wife at
the time the PMA was executed. While the trial court did not make
explicit findings as to whether wife was provided with “a fair and
reasonable disclosure” of husband’s finances, see § 14-2-307(1)(b),
C.R.S. 2000, because the court found that wife was generally aware
of husband’s finances, we agree with husband that wife received a
“fair and reasonable” disclosure of husband’s financial information
as a matter of law.
¶ 25 Under the common law that the CMAA codified, see Ikeler, 161
P.3d at 668, a fair and reasonable financial disclosure does not
require the parties to exchange a detailed list of assets. In re Estate
of Lewin, 595 P.2d 1055, 1058 (Colo. App. 1979). Instead, “[f]air
disclosure contemplates that each spouse should be given
information, of a general and approximate nature, concerning the
net worth of the other,” In re Estate of Lopata, 641 P.2d 952, 955
(Colo. 1982), and a party’s “general knowledge of the extent of [the
other party’s] assets, . . . even though she may have been unaware
11 of their exact value,” may constitute sufficient disclosure. In re
Marriage of Ingels, 596 P.2d 1211, 1214 (Colo. App. 1979).
¶ 26 For instance, in Newman v. Newman, 653 P.2d 728, 733 (Colo.
1982), the premarital agreement was held enforceable where the
wife “had access to the records of her husband’s financial interests
when she worked for him as a bookkeeper and later during their
two years of courtship,” and wife decided to sign the agreement
“with full knowledge that her husband was a person of substantial
wealth.” Similarly, in In re Marriage of Rahn, 914 P.2d 463, 465
(Colo. App. 1995), “[e]ven though the prenuptial agreement
contemplated that the parties would attach lists of their assets,
[and] neither party complied,” the agreement was nevertheless
enforceable given the wife’s general knowledge of the husband’s
assets. See also In re Estate of Stever, 392 P.2d 286, 287 (Colo.
1964) (agreement enforceable where the wife “had known [husband]
more than thirty years, . . . she knew he had property in Kansas,
knew he had ranch property in Colorado[,] and . . . she had visited
some of [the husband’s] ranch properties”).
¶ 27 Here, the trial court found that while there “was testimony
about Wife’s access to financial information and data about
12 Husband’s assets and income, there was no credible evidence about
what financial information and data she actually had, or when, or
what such financial information actually disclosed.” The trial court
cited the blank financial disclosure exhibits at the end of the PMA.
Yet, with record support, the trial court also acknowledged wife’s
concession “that she was generally aware of Husband’s assets when
they moved together [in December of 1999], although not their exact
values.”
¶ 28 But because general knowledge of the other party’s assets is
sufficient, even where the parties may have failed to include an
exhibit listing their assets, we conclude as a matter of law that the
trial court’s finding that wife generally knew of husband’s assets
less than a month before her execution of the PMA was sufficient to
satisfy the CMAA’s reasonable and fair financial disclosure
requirement. See Rahn, 914 P.2d at 465; Ingels, 596 P.2d at 1214.
III. Wife’s Cross-Appeal as to the Valuation of Husband’s Business
¶ 29 Because the trial court, on remand, may again find that the
PMA is unenforceable, we address wife’s cross-appeal, which
challenges the trial court’s premarital valuation of husband’s
interest in Erie. Specifically, wife argues that the trial court
13 undervalued husband’s premarital interest by approximately $4.4
million because the court erroneously failed to adjust the value of
husband’s interest for certain “built-in capital gains taxes” that Erie
would have to pay as a C corporation. In other words, wife
contends that, when determining the value of the business at the
time of the marriage nearly twenty years ago — a business that was
not pending sale at the time of the marriage and, indeed, was not
sold during the marriage — the court was required to consider the
potential tax liability on unrealized capital gains. We are not
persuaded.
A. Standards of Review and Applicable Law
¶ 30 When dividing marital assets, the court may select the
valuation of one party over that of the other party or make its own
valuation, and its decision will be affirmed if the value is reasonable
in light of the evidence as a whole. In re Marriage of Medeiros, 2023
COA 42M, ¶ 41; In re Marriage of Krejci, 2013 COA 6, ¶ 23
(recognizing that a valuation will be upheld “unless clearly
erroneous”). However, we review the trial court’s conclusions of law
de novo. In re Marriage of Cardona, 321 P.3d 518, 523 (Colo. App.
2010), aff’d, 2014 CO 3.
14 ¶ 31 In valuing a marital asset, the trial court “may, in its
discretion, consider tax consequences.” In re Marriage of Finer, 920
P.2d 325, 332 (Colo. App. 1996). For instance, In re Marriage of
Bayer, 687 P.2d 537, 539 (Colo. App. 1984), held that the district
court had the discretion to determine whether an equitable division
of the marital property was best achieved by considering the net
equity or gross equity in the parties’ mountain condominium. Id.
Because “there was no evidence of a potential sale of the property,”
the Bayer division held that the district court had not abused its
discretion by refusing to consider capital gains taxes that the
husband would pay in the event of a sale. Id.
¶ 32 Similarly, in Finer, 920 P.2d at 332, the division held that the
district court abused its discretion by subtracting selling costs and
capital gains taxes from the value of a condominium where there
was “no evidence as to whether [the] husband intended to keep or
to sell” the property. The court reasoned that whether to adjust for
such costs involves “a determination whether the property will
actually be sold, thereby resulting in a net equity.” Id.; see also In
re Marriage of Woodrum, 618 P.2d 732, 734 (Colo. App. 1980)
(holding that in valuing the marital home, the district court could,
15 within its discretion, deduct estimated real estate commissions and
capital gains taxes), overruled on other grounds by In re Marriage of
Nussbeck, 974 P.2d 493 (Colo. 1999).
¶ 33 Here, although wife argued, based on federal decisions valuing
C corporations for tax purposes, that the trial court was required to
deduct mandatory capital gains taxes from the premarital valuation
of Erie, the trial court disagreed. See Eisenberg v. Comm’r, 155
F.3d 50, 54-59 (2d Cir. 1998) (holding that for gift tax purposes, “an
adjustment for potential capital gains tax liabilities should be taken
into account in valuing the stock at issue in the closely held C
corporation” because a hypothetical buyer would take into account
unavoidable “built-in” capital gains taxes that had been imposed on
C corporations since 1986); Est. of Jelke v. Comm’r, 507 F.3d 1317,
1318-21 (11th Cir. 2007) (holding the same for estate tax valuation
purposes).
¶ 34 The trial court reasoned that because there was no evidence of
a contemplated sale of Erie or its assets, the taxes that may apply
to a future sale were speculative. The court cited the testimony of
husband’s first expert witness, who had valued Erie as a “going
16 concern” and had stated that it was inappropriate to deduct capital
gains taxes under Bayer. The court rejected the federal tax cases
cited by wife as not applicable to the Uniform Dissolution of
Marriage Act, and adopted the reasoning of husband’s experts, who
had valued Erie based on the assumption that the business was not
going to be liquidated but would continue operating.
¶ 35 Wife asks us to reverse the trial court’s valuation and hold as
a matter of law that the trial court was required to consider capital
gains taxes when valuing Erie as a C corporation. But we decline to
do so because the Colorado Supreme Court has previously refused
to impose per se legal tests governing the valuation of marital
property given the discretion vested in trial courts to divide marital
estates equitably. See In re Marriage of Thornhill, 232 P.3d 782, 787
(Colo. 2010).
¶ 36 Specifically, in Thornhill, 232 P.3d at 785, the supreme court
declined to adopt an overarching rule prohibiting the application of
marketability discounts to the valuation of an ownership interest in
a closely held corporation. Even though the supreme court had
previously prohibited marketability discounts in the context of a
corporation buying out a dissenting minority shareholder, see
17 Pueblo Bancorporation v. Lindoe, Inc., 63 P.3d 353 (Colo. 2003), the
Thornhill court refused to extend that blanket prohibition to
dissolution of marriage proceedings. Thornhill, 232 P.3d at 785.
The court reasoned that section 14-10-113, C.R.S. 2024, did not
specifically require marital assets to be assigned their fair market
value, and that said section instead gave district courts “broad
discretion to divide marital property as they ‘deem[] just’ after
‘considering all relevant factors.’” Thornhill, 232 P.3d at 786
(quoting § 14-10-113(1)). Consequently, Thornhill left the
application of a marketability discount to the discretion of the trial
court because “the language of the marriage dissolution statute
suggests that a case-by-case approach is most appropriate.” Id. at
787.
¶ 37 We see no reason to depart from Thornhill here, as nothing in
the text of section 14-10-113(1) suggests that the trial court was
required, as a matter of law, to account for capital gains taxes in
valuing Erie, as opposed to valuing and dividing the marital estate
in a way that the court deemed just. While wife cites two out-of-
state cases that required unrealized capital gains tax liability to be
accounted for when valuing a C corporation during divorce
18 proceedings, see Bathke v. Costley, 332 So. 3d 1076, 1078 (Fla.
Dist. Ct. App. 2021); Wechsler v. Wechsler, 866 N.Y.S.2d 120, 122–
29 (App. Div. 2008), we decline to mandate such a valuation
approach because Thornhill, 232 P.3d at 787, affords trial courts
substantial discretion to value assets on a case-by-case basis.
¶ 38 Nor do we perceive any abuse of the trial court’s substantial
discretion here. In declining to include the potential tax liability on
unrealized capital gains in its valuation of Erie, consistent with
Bayer, 687 P.2d at 539, and Finer, 920 P.2d at 332, the trial court
found that there was no indication that a sale of Erie, and thus the
payment of capital gains taxes, was imminent. Cf. In re Marriage of
Dale, 87 P.3d 219, 226 (Colo. App. 2003) (“[A] trial court is not
obligated to consider hypothetical tax implications.”).
¶ 39 Moreover, the trial court’s findings were supported by the
testimony of husband’s expert, who stated that as of the premarital
valuation date, no portions of Erie were for sale. And the trial
court’s finding that Erie’s tax liability was speculative likewise
enjoyed record support. Wife’s own expert conceded that capital
gains taxes were not payable until the actual liquidation of Erie,
and experts for both parties acknowledged that, had there been a
19 sale, at least some capital gains taxes could possibly have been
avoided at the time of the premarital valuation using a “1031
exchange.” Cf. In re Marriage of Grubb, 721 P.2d 1194, 1196 (Colo.
App. 1986) (no abuse of discretion in refusing to consider tax
consequences where “although a tax liability was certain, the
amount of such liability was speculative”), rev’d on other grounds,
745 P.2d 661 (Colo. 1987). While wife points to other evidence,
such as internal Erie documents that considered potential tax
liability on unrealized capital gains, the trial court, as fact finder,
was free to weigh such evidence as it saw fit. In re Marriage of
Lewis, 66 P.3d 204, 207 (Colo. App. 2003) (recognizing that
credibility determinations and the weight, probative force, and
sufficiency of the evidence, as well as the inferences and
conclusions to be drawn therefrom, are within the trial court’s sole
discretion).
¶ 40 We also disagree with wife’s assertion that the trial court erred
because it concluded that it was categorically prohibited from
considering Erie’s potential tax liability on unrealized capital gains.
Nowhere in the permanent orders did the trial court make such a
ruling. Instead, the court acknowledged Bayer, 687 P.2d at 539,
20 which affords the court the discretion to consider capital gains
taxes, and it emphasized that it had exercised that discretion when
selecting between each party’s respective valuation.
¶ 41 Finally, to the extent that wife argues that the trial court erred
because husband’s experts were allowed to impermissibly express
an opinion on the applicable law, we decline to review her
contention given her lack of a contemporaneous objection to that
testimony. See CRE 103(a); see also People v. Martinez, 549 P.2d
758, 760 (Colo. 1976) (“It is axiomatic that contemporaneous
objections must be made to allegedly erroneous rulings.”).
Likewise, we decline to consider wife’s contention, raised for the
first time in her reply brief, that the trial court made an additional
valuation error because it calculated the premarital value of Erie
without considering capital gains taxes, but then included such
capital gains taxes when determining the present value of Erie,
resulting in an inconsistent valuation. See In re Marriage of Herold,
2021 COA 16, ¶ 14 (issue raised for the first time in reply brief will
not be addressed).
¶ 42 In sum, we affirm the trial court’s determination of both the
premarital and marital values of husband’s interest in Erie, and in
21 the event the trial court again determines on remand that the PMA
is unenforceable, it may reinstate its original marital property
division.
IV. Disposition
¶ 43 The portion of the judgment determining the premarital and
marital values of husband’s interest in Erie is affirmed. The portion
of the judgment determining the enforceability of the PMA is
reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
¶ 44 On remand, the court shall first reconsider whether wife
voluntarily executed the PMA and make findings accordingly. If the
court finds wife did not voluntarily execute the PMA, it may
reinstate the original marital property division.
¶ 45 If, on the other hand, the court finds wife voluntarily executed
the PMA, it must re-open the marital property division to enforce
the applicable provisions of the PMA and allow the parties to
present additional evidence on their present economic
circumstances. If the court reopens the marital property division, it
must also consider whether the provisions of the PMA regarding
maintenance are presently unconscionable.
22 ¶ 46 Those portions of the judgment not challenged on appeal
remain undisturbed.
JUDGE DUNN and JUDGE GRAHAM concur.