In re Estate of Teinert, 251 S.W.3d 66 (Tex. App.—Waco 2008, pet. denied).
Testator died in 1977 and his estate was handled through an
independent administration in 1978. Although the executor paid creditors
and distributed estate assets promptly to the beneficiaries, he never
filed an affidavit to close the estate under Probate Code § 151. About
thirty years later, a beneficiary petitioned the court to be appointed
as the executor to resolve a dispute regarding royalty interests held by
several devisees. The court refused his request, closed the estate under
Probate Code § 152, and recommended that he could seek resolution of
this issue in a separate legal proceeding. The beneficiary appealed.
The appellate court dismissed the appeal. The court explained that the
closing methods of Probate Code § 151 and 152 are not exclusive. Prior
cases have held that final distribution of the estate after creditors
are paid results in the closing of the estate by operation of law. Thus,
the trial court lacked jurisdiction to take further action with regard
to Testator’s estate.
A dissenting judge pointed out that no court has ever determined that
all estate assets were distributed and thus the conclusion that the
estate was closed as a matter of law was incorrect.
Moral: Even though not required, it would be prudent to close all
independent administrations by affidavit to avoid the possibility of
renewed estate administration decades later.