Opinion ID: 1135241
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the Settlement Agreement Is in Mr. Shewmake's Best Interest

Text: Mrs. Shewmake's final argument is that the settlement agreement should not be enforceable because it was not made with Mr. Shewmake's best interest in mind. In support of her argument, Mrs. Shewmake cites as authority this Court's decision in Large v. Hayes, 534 So.2d 1101 (Ala.1988), in which this Court held that a probate court could not approve a settlement agreement involving a minor until and unless the court held a hearing and received extensive evidence to determine whether the settlement was in the minor's best interest. As Matthews observes, however, this Court began its analysis by recognizing the special nature of an attempted settlement of a minor's claim, 534 So.2d at 1105, whereas the instant action does not deal with the settlement of a minor's claim. Mrs. Shewmake also cites as authority for this argument our decision in Henderson v. Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, 361 So.2d 1011 (Ala.1978), in which we stated that only the court, upon being advised of the facts and hearing evidence, may enter a valid judgment for the agreed amount if the same is determined to be just and fair and conservative to the ward's best interest. 361 So.2d at 1013. This proposition is correct, but it does not support Mrs. Shewmake's argument that a probate court must develop an extensive record to support its finding. Mrs. Shewmake cannot cite any authority to support this argument. The probate court's November 18 order affirmatively found, as a matter of fact, that the settlement agreement was in Mr. Shewmake's best interest. Mrs. Shewmake has presented no evidence to indicate otherwise. It is worth recalling that the controversy at issue began when Matthews filed several objections to the specificity and correctness of Mrs. Shewmake's inventory and petition for partial settlement, contending in those objections that Mrs. Shewmake had possibly squandered some of Mr. Shewmake's assets. The record contains no evidence indicating that Mrs. Shewmake alleviated any of Matthews's concerns regarding her stewardship of Mr. Shewmake's assets. Further, Mrs. Shewmake never undertook to dispute Matthews's assertion that she had lost much, or perhaps all, of Mr. Shewmake's extremely valuable collection of firearms or to challenge the suggestion that she had made improper gifts to herself as conservator. Thus, we cannot conclude that the probate court's factual finding that the settlement agreement is in Mr. Shewmake's best interest was plainly or palpably wrong.