In re Estate of Scaletta, 981 N.W.2d 568

Decedent Filadelfo (Jack) Scaletta executed a will and a separate revocable living family trust, naming nephew Carl Scaletta Jr. as trustee and personal representative; beneficiaries included Carl Jr. and his father, Carl Scaletta Sr.
Carl Sr. filed a petition for trust administration seeking records, an accounting, and declaratory relief about several bank accounts moved into the Trust.
County court found four accounts transferred to the Trust before Jack’s death validly became trust property (transfers authorized by power of attorney) but held two accounts transferred after death should pass to Carl Sr. as POD designee.
County court ordered distribution of the two post-death accounts to Carl Sr. and directed the trustee (Carl Jr.) to provide a complete accounting by a set date unless previously submitted/accepted.
Carl Sr. appealed; the Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under the appellate rules, concluding the county court’s order was not final and appealable. The Nebraska Supreme Court granted further review.
Supreme Court held the order was a trust-administration ruling (not an estate-only ruling) and was not final because it left the requested trust accounting unresolved, so the Court of Appeals correctly dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the county court’s Feb. 18, 2022 order was a final, appealable order	Scaletta Sr.: order disposed of merits and was appealable	Scaletta Jr.: order was not final; issues remain for trust administration	Held: Not final—accounting requirement means further action needed; appeal dismissed
Whether the ruling was an estate (probate) decision or a trust-administration decision (which affects appeal rules)	Scaletta Sr.: matter is a trust action independent of estate; appeal governed by trust-code rules	Scaletta Jr.: parties/caption suggested estate matters could be implicated; some cited estate cases	Held: It was a trust-administration action under the Nebraska Uniform Trust Code, not an estate-only proceeding

Tegra Corp. v. Boeshart, 311 Neb. 783, 976 N.W.2d 165 (appellate courts must determine jurisdiction as a question of law)
Heist v. Nebraska Dept. of Corr. Servs., 979 N.W.2d 772 (appellate courts independently review questions of law)
In re Estate of Rose, 273 Neb. 490, 730 N.W.2d 391 (discussing appealability of probate orders and final-judgment principles)
In re Margaret L. Matthews Revocable Trust, 979 N.W.2d 259 (trust-order finality: final order must dispose of whole merits)
In re Estate of Frerich, 120 Neb. 462, 233 N.W. 456 (historical treatment distinguishing trusts from probate jurisdiction)