Estate of Mitchell, 20 S.W.3d 160 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2000, no pet.).
The trial court approved a sale of estate property for $38,000 under
Probate Code § 353. Some of the decedent’s heirs appealed on the ground
that the sale price was so low that the court abused its discretion in
approving the sale. The heirs showed that the property was appraised for
$43,000 and that a prospective purchaser offered $45,000. The appellate
court determined that the trial court did not abuse its discretion
because there was no evidence that the property could actually be sold
for the appraised value and the purchaser had already executed an
earnest money contract before the higher offer was received.
Moral: A person challenging a court approved sale of estate property
needs to have substantial evidence to support an allegation that the
court abused its discretion in approving the sale.