In re Marriage of Thornhill
Colorado Court of Appeals
200 P.3d 1083 (Colo. Ct. App. 2008)
Antoinette Thornhill and Chuck Thornhill were married; Chuck owned 70.5% of an oil-and-gas-equipment business, and Antoinette's father, who served as the company's CFO, helped her negotiate their separation agreement even though Antoinette had no lawyer and no independent financial expertise or knowledge of Chuck's business. Under the agreement, Chuck would pay Antoinette half the value of his business share — $752,692 — over 10 years with no interest. By the time the divorce was finalized, Antoinette disavowed the agreement as unfair, but the trial court upheld it, and she appealed.
Whether a court will find a separation agreement unconscionable if it determines the agreement is not fair, just, and reasonable.