In re Jacky, 506 S.W.3d 550 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.).
The probate court admitted the testator’s will to
probate as a muniment of title. After 3.5 years elapsed, the court
reopened the estate and appointed an independent executor so the
executor could pursue potential claims due to the testator’s estate. A
writ of mandamus was sought on the basis that the order admitting the
will to probate as a muniment of title was a final order and thus the
court lacked plenary power to reopen the estate.
The appellate court conditionally granted mandamus
stating that the probate court’s order was void as its plenary power had
already expired. The court explained that the muniment of title order
was final and that the two year period to file a bill of review under
Estates Code § 55.251 elapsed prior to the probate court’s appointment
of an executor. The court rejected the argument that the estate did not
actually close because of the potential claim because to accept that
proposition would mean “no estate in which a will is admitted to probate
as a muniment of title could ever close because there always exists the
possibility that an unknown claim needing administration might remain
and might not come to light until later.”
Moral: A person unhappy with a court
admitting a will to probate as a muniment of title must either timely
appeal or file a bill of review if the person wishes to have a personal
representative appointed to administer the estate.