In the Matter of the Sam Richardson Revocable Living Trust v. the State of Texas

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-26-00173-CV

IN THE MATTER OF THE SAM RICHARDSON REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST

On Appeal from the 181st District Court Randall County, Texas Trial Court No. 86721B, Honorable Ron Enns, Presiding

May 1, 2026 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before PARKER, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Appellant, Stacey Galloway Richardson, proceeding pro se, appeals from the trial

court’s Order on First Amended Petition for Appointment of Successor Trustee. We

dismiss the untimely appeal for want of jurisdiction.

The trial court signed the Order on First Amended Petition for Appointment of

Successor Trustee on February 19, 2026. Appellant’s notice of appeal was, therefore,

due within twenty days, by March 11, 2026. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b) (requiring a

notice of appeal to be filed within twenty days after an order is signed in an accelerated

appeal), 28.1(a) (accelerating appeals from interlocutory orders); TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 51.014(a)(1) (permitting interlocutory appeals from orders appointing trustees).

Appellant did not file a notice of appeal until April 9, 2026.

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 April 13, 2026, we notified Appellant that her notice of appeal appeared untimely

and directed her to show how we have jurisdiction over the appeal. Appellant has filed a

response, requesting an extension of time to file the late notice of appeal. As we are

without authority to grant such an extension, we 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 (allowing an appellate court to extend the time to file a notice of appeal by no

more than fifteen days).

Because Appellant has not demonstrated grounds for continuing the appeal, we

dismiss her untimely appeal for want of jurisdiction. TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).

Per Curiam