Estate of Jackie Lee Montague v. the State of Texas

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-25-00004-CV

ESTATE OF JACKIE LEE MONTAGUE, DECEASED

On Appeal from the County Court Potter County, Texas

Trial Court No. CCPR-23-256, Honorable Nancy Tanner, Presiding

January 23, 2025

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before PARKER and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Appellant, Embry Montague, appearing pro se, appeals from the trial court’s Order Admitting Will to Probate and Granting Letters Testamentary Pursuant to Texas Estates Code 401.001. The trial court signed the order on November 20, 2023. As no post- judgment motions or requests for findings were filed, a notice of appeal was due within thirty days thereafter, by December 20, 2023. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a). Montague filed a notice of appeal on January 7, 2025.

A timely notice of appeal is essential to invoking this Court’s jurisdiction. See TEX.

R. APP. P. 25.1(b), 26.1; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 616-17 (Tex. 1997). By letter of January 13, 2025, we notified Montague that her notice of appeal appeared

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untimely and directed her to show how we have jurisdiction over the appeal. Montague has filed a response, which we construe as a request for an extension of time to file the late notice of appeal. We are without authority to grant such an extension and must deny the request. See TEX. R. APP. P. 2 (prohibiting an appellate court from altering the time for perfecting an appeal in a civil case); 26.3 (permitting an appellate court to extend the time to file a notice of appeal up to fifteen days).

Because Montague has not demonstrated grounds for continuing the appeal, we dismiss Montague’s untimely appeal for want of jurisdiction. TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).

Per Curiam