963 S.W.2d 222 (Ky. Ct. App. 1998)
The events giving rise to this appeal began on October 14, 1995, when Sherri Mitchell sustained personal injuries while riding as a passenger in a vehicle owned by her father, Donnie Fee.1
The automobile was being operated at the time by her husband, appellee Michael J. Mitchell.2
On October 26, 1995, appellant Sherri Mitchell, who was then seventeen years of age, executed a release in settlement of her bodily injury claim, receiving the sum of $2,500 in exchange.3 No conservator had been appointed to oversee her affairs when she signed the release document.4
Subsequently, the appellant initiated proceedings in the trial court by filing a motion for declaratory judgment.5 She contended in the motion that her status as a minor at the time of execution rendered the release null and void due to incapacity.6
In response, the appellees maintained that the appellant’s prior marriage had the effect of emancipating her and eliminating the legal disabilities associated with minority, such as the inability to contract.7 The trial court accepted the appellees’ argument and concluded that Sherri Mitchell possessed the requisite capacity to execute the release.8
Whether a married minor has the capacity to execute a release and enter into a settlement agreement growing out of a personal injury action?9
Kentucky Revised Statutes section 387.010 defines a minor as anyone under the age of eighteen.10 Ordinarily, a contract executed by a minor is enforceable by the minor but may be avoided by the minor if not affirmed after reaching adulthood.11 Marriage of the infant emancipates the minor but does not make the minor sui juris or remove the disabilities of infancy with respect to contractual capacity.12
No. The privilege to avoid contracts applies to settlement agreements and releases of third-party tortfeasors, and the policy protecting minors from transactions that may result in financial loss continues to apply even after marriage.13 Sherri Mitchell was seventeen when she signed the release for $2,500 without a conservator, and her marriage to Michael J. Mitchell does not classify her as more mature than other minors or eliminate her ability to avoid the agreement.14
The settlement and release executed by Sherri Mitchell is voidable, and the trial court judgment is reversed with directions to enter an order voiding the agreement.15