Estate of Sean Thomas

Summary

The Court affirmed an order restricting the personal representative from making estate distributions without prior court approval. It held that the probate court had authority under the probate code to restrain a personal representative in an informal probate proceeding, that the statutory risk-based standard—not the general preliminary-injunction standard—governed, and that no bond was required. The Court also clarified that the order’s substance controlled despite the district court’s inaccurate use of “preliminary injunction” terminology.