Charles H. Fagen was born on December 2, 1960, in Spencer, Iowa, and graduated from Spencer High School in 1979. He received his B.S. in Business Administration (with a major in accounting) from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1983. While an undergraduate he was a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center Director (VITA).

While attending law school at Drake he passed the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Examination in February, 1985, and worked as a law clerk at Valley Bank Trust Department (now US Bank), responsible for tax planning and compliance as well as trust administration and probating of estates.

Chuck received his J.D. from Drake University Law School in 1986.  After graduating from law school, he worked as an assistant tax specialist at Peat Marwick in Des Moines for one year before joining McDonald, Brown & Fagen in 1987. He became a partner in 1991.

Chuck was admitted to the Iowa Bar in June, 1986, and to the Minnesota Bar in November, 1989. He was admitted to the United States District Court for Southern Iowa in 1988, and to the United States Tax Court in 1998. He has a "BV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

He has twice been a featured speaker on income tax issues at conferences on The Future of the Small Farm, and on Limited Resource Farmers. 

In his general practice, his areas of practice include: real estate;  taxation law and tax returns; wills, trusts, estate planning, and probate; agricultural law; business organizations and commercial law; debtor-creditor law; family law; and personal injury law.

In addition to practicing law, Chuck has also been extensively involved in his community. He is a member of the Dallas County Foundation Board of Directors. He has served as President of the Dallas Center Rotary Club, President of the Dallas Center Chamber of Commerce, twice Chairman of the Dallas Center Fall Festival, Vice President of the Raccoon Valley Humane Society, and two terms as President of Abilities Unlimited, a handicap assistance agency in Perry, Iowa. He is a member of the Dallas County and Iowa Bar Associations.

Chuck and his wife Marsha live in Dallas Center where she is an Elementary Principal with the Dallas Center-Grimes Community Schools. They have one young son, Grant, and a Labrador Retriever, Lucy. His outside interests include golfing, fishing, and pheasant hunting.