In re Estate of Rothrock, 312 S.W.3d 271 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2010, no pet.).
Both the trial and appellate courts agreed that Proponent was in
default for failing to probate Testator’s will within four years of
death and thus the will could not be admitted to probate. See Prob. Code
§ 73. Proponent, a non-Texas lawyer, knew about Testator’s will from the
time of Testator’s death. Although he was the sole beneficiary of the
will to the exclusion of his five siblings, Proponent did not probate
the will believing that there was insufficient property to warrant doing
so. Thirteen years later when it turned out that Testator had died
owning valuable mineral interests, Proponent attempted to probate the
will. The court held that it was too late and that merely because
Proponent and his siblings had agreed not to probate Testator’s will was
not a sufficient excuse. Proponent made a decision not to probate the
will. The fact that the decision turned out to be the wrong one is not a
sufficient excuse for delaying beyond the four year period.
Moral: If you are a beneficiary of a will and you know about the will,
it is prudent practice to probate the will within four years of the
testator’s death.