Family Law Appeals
Family law appeals, like appeals in other civil cases, are taken under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Under those rules, most post-trial and appellate deadlines run from the date the judgment, or decree, is signed by the trial court.
To perfect an appeal, one must file a notice of appeal and a docketing statement. One also must order the reporter's record (the court reporter's transcription of the hearing or trial) and specify supplements to the clerk's record (what has been filed with the clerk of the court). These materials are filed with the court of appeals. The parties later submit briefs in accordance with detailed briefing rules and ultimately argue their cases before the court.
Special rules apply to family law appeals. Among them are:
If a parent wants to know exactly how the trial court calculated child support, the parent might need to make a special request to the court.
Appeals from the rulings of associate judges must be filed within three days of the date of hearing.
Termination and paternity cases are treated as accelerated appeals, which means that the notice of appeal must be filed earlier than in normal cases.
The reader should take care to determine whether any special rules apply to a particular case.
