Wiley v. Iverson

• Decision Date: 14 September 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-558.,98-558.
• Citation: 1999 MT 214,985 P.2d 1176
• Parties: Marlene R. WILEY, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Sheri L. IVERSON, Personal Representative and Respondent.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

985 P.2d 1176

1999 MT 214

Marlene R. WILEY, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Sheri L. IVERSON, Personal Representative and Respondent.

No. 98-558.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs January 28, 1999.

Decided September 14, 1999.

Patrick G. Frank, Gail M. Haviland, Worden, Thane & Haines, Missoula, Montana, for Appellant.

Jack Jenks, Phillips & Bohyer, Missoula, Montana, for Respondent.

Justice WILLIAM E. HUNT, SR. delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Marlene R. Wiley (Marlene) appeals from the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law & Order of the Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County, upholding the validity of an antenuptial agreement between Marlene and her deceased husband, Walter William Wiley (Bill). We affirm.

¶ 2 The sole issue on appeal is whether the District Court properly determined that the antenuptial agreement was valid and enforceable.

Factual and Procedural History

¶ 3 On May 5, 1984, Bill and Marlene were married on the "spur of the moment." On May 4, 1984, one day prior to their marriage, Bill urged Marlene to execute a document entitled "Antenuptial Agreement" prepared by Bill's attorney. That agreement provided in relevant part:

1. Representations of Husband: Husband hereby represents that the items listed on Schedule "A," which is attached hereto, are all of the property and assets in which he has any interest whatsoever as of the date of execution of this Agreement.

....

3. Release of Marital Rights: .... Wife hereby waives and releases all right and interest, statutory or otherwise, including, but not limited to, dower, widow's allowance, statutory allowance, distribution in intestacy, and right of election to take against the will of Husband which she might acquire as the wife, widow, heir at law, next of kin, or distributee of Husband, in his property, owned by him at the time of the marriage or acquired by him at any time thereafter, and in his estate upon his death.

4. Separate Property: Each of the parties shall have the absolute right to manage, dispose of, or otherwise deal with any property now separately owned, or hereafter separately acquired, in any manner whatsoever, and all the property brought into the marriage by each of the parties shall remain the sole property of the party who brought it into the marriage.

¶ 4 Bill's first wife died in March of 1984. Thereafter, Bill executed a will and a codicil to that will leaving everything in his estate in twelve equal shares to his four children, seven grandchildren, and Marlene. Bill died on August 21, 1997. He was survived by Marlene, his four daughters, and seven grandchildren. Upon Bill's death, Marlene received, due to joint tenancy ownership, a 1990 Lincoln Towncar and a 1997 Ford pickup. She also received numerous items of personal property and all of the assets and accounts of the "Touch of Life" nutritional and lifestyle consulting business, even though the estate held a one-half interest in that business. Marlene will receive a one-twelfth share of Bill's estate upon probate.

¶ 5 In early 1998, Marlene, as Bill's surviving spouse, filed two petitions requesting supervised administration, a homestead allowance, an exempt property allowance, a family allowance, and an elective share of Bill's estate. The personal representative of Bill's estate, his daughter, Sheri L. Iverson (Sheri), responded to Marlene's petitions by asserting that the Antenuptial Agreement of May 4, 1984, constituted a valid waiver by Marlene of her rights.

¶ 6 A hearing was held on the validity of the Antenuptial Agreement on July 16, 1998. At that hearing, Marlene's deposition was received into evidence and the court heard testimony from four witnesses on behalf of the estate. That evidence showed that Bill and Marlene first met at a clinic in Mesa, Arizona in 1978. Later, Marlene worked as a nutritional and lifestyle consultant for Bill at the Carefree Clinic in Carefree, Arizona, a business in which Bill held an interest. Prior to the marriage, Marlene had visited Sheri and the rest of Bill's family in Montana on several occasions, both by herself and with Bill.

¶ 7 Marlene testified that she was aware of Bill's ownership interest in two nursing homes in Oregon, that she had visited those homes with Bill prior to their marriage, and that she knew that Bill's main source of income was from the two nursing homes. In addition, Marlene had knowledge of Bill's interests in the Carefree Clinic and a home in Arizona.

¶ 8 Prior to the marriage, Marlene also knew that Bill was attempting to purchase a piece of real estate known as the "Lolo property." Bill's involvement with the Lolo property began in November of 1983, prior to his marriage to Marlene. At that time, the owners of the Lolo property were in bankruptcy and were purchasing the property on a contract for deed. Bill negotiated and financed a purchase of the sellers' interest in the contract for deed, completing the transaction on April 2, 1984, at which time the sellers assigned their interest in the contract for deed to Bill. Thus, Bill held the sellers' interest in the Lolo property prior to his marriage to Marlene. However, due to the delay of bankruptcy proceedings, Bill did not complete his purchase of the Lolo property until May 8, 1985, when he purchased the buyers' interest in the contract for deed from their bankruptcy estate.

¶ 9 Before his marriage to Marlene, Bill told Sheri that he desired an antenuptial agreement because "he wanted to keep everything separate, before and after the marriage." Bill's stated intention was that the Lolo property should pass to "his girls" upon his death. In April of 1984, Bill requested that his attorney in Montana prepare the Antenuptial Agreement. Bill told his attorney that both he and Marlene had been previously married and had children of their own, and that he wanted to keep his property separate from his marriage so that it would pass to his children.

¶ 10 One day prior to their marriage, Bill presented Marlene with the Antenuptial Agreement while she was finalizing some paperwork at the Carefree Clinic, told her to sign it, and then left. Marlene filled in her name, address, and the date. Bill's and Marlene's signatures on the Antenuptial Agreement were notarized. Marlene acknowledged in her deposition that she signed the agreement voluntarily and that she was not pressured into signing it. Although Marlene admitted that she could have read the agreement, she stated that she did not read the agreement prior to signing it.

¶ 11 Marlene further testified that she had observed that the document was captioned "Antenuptial Agreement," but did not understand what that meant. Nor did Marlene understand the legal significance of the agreement or consult an attorney about the legal consequences of signing the document. According to Marlene, Bill had told her that the agreement was necessary to protect him from the creditors of Marlene's daughter, who had declared bankruptcy. Except for Bill telling Marlene that the agreement was to protect him from creditors, Bill and Marlene never discussed the agreement or its legal consequences. Nor did Bill and Marlene discuss Bill's finances or assets at the time he presented the Antenuptial Agreement to Marlene. Apparently, the schedules showing Bill's assets were not attached to the Antenuptial Agreement at the time that Marlene signed that agreement. The first time that Marlene observed the schedules was after Bill's death.

¶ 12 A close friend of the couple testified that after executing the agreement, Marlene had stated on at least ten occasions that, "if [Bill] died before she did, [Marlene] would get nothing." Although English is Marlene's second language, she speaks English, French, German, and some Spanish. She has traveled extensively throughout Australia, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, England, the Middle East, and India. Marlene holds a Bachelor of Science degree. She has also attended college courses at Barry College in Florida, Duffy College in Australia, Brigham Young University in Utah, and the Utah Technical College. In 1962, Marlene passed the National Teacher's Examination in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1976, she passed the English Proficiency Examination. Marlene has authored several books, including a remedial reading textbook published in 1978.

¶ 13 Marlene had several years experience as a nurse, had some experience in business bookkeeping and management, and had previously owned a large maintenance company in Florida. She also had extensive teaching experience in various elementary schools, had been a principal for a private school in Orem, Utah, and had even worked as a substitute teacher at Brigham Young University.

¶ 14 The District Court concluded that the parties voluntarily entered into the Antenuptial Agreement on May 4, 1984. Furthermore, the court concluded that the agreement was valid and, therefore, that Marlene had "released and waived her rights to a homestead allowance, exempt property allowance, family allowance and her right to petition for an elective share from Bill Wiley's estate." Marlene appeals.

Discussion

¶ 15 Did the District Court correctly conclude that Marlene waived her rights to Bill's estate by virtue of the Antenuptial Agreement?

¶ 16 The question of whether there was fair disclosure of Bill's assets prior to execution of the Antenuptial Agreement by Marlene was a factual determination to be made in the first instance by the District Court. See In re Estate of Thies (1995), 273 Mont. 272, 279, 903 P.2d 186, 190

. We review a district court's findings of fact regarding an antenuptial agreement to determine if they are clearly erroneous. Thies,

273 Mont. at 279,

903 P.2d at 190; see also Interstate Prod. Credit Ass'n v. DeSaye (1991), 250 Mont. 320, 323, 820 P.2d 1285, 1287 (setting forth the three-part test for making a clearly erroneous determination). We review a district court's interpretation of the law as...