In re Estate of Bendtsen, 229 S.W.3d 845 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, no pet.).
A probate court granted an application to sell estate property. The
appellate court held that it lacked jurisdiction over an appeal because
the order was not a final judgment. One of the ways for a judgment to be
final is if a statute declares that an order is final. Probate Code §
355 provides that a judgment is final when a court confirms or
disapproves a report of sale. In this case, the sale had not yet
occurred, a report had not been filed, and the trial court had not taken
action. Accordingly, the order of sale was merely interlocutory and
non-appealable.
Moral: If a statute explains when a phase of the probate proceeding is
final and appealable, a dissatisfied party should wait until the that
time comes before appealing.