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Specialty tag(s): Appealing a Divorce Decree or Judgment, Divorce

How to Improve Your Chances of Winning a Divorce Appeal

Thomas A. Greenwald | October 8, 2024

A contested divorce can take a significant toll, both financially and emotionally. It can often be a long and drawn-out legal battle where one or both sides may end up unhappy with the final divorce decree. If you’re unsatisfied with the outcome, the immediate reaction may be to file an appeal, but you need to stop and consider whether your appeal is likely to be successful before investing time and money into the legal process. A successful outcome starts with understanding how to win a divorce appeal.

What Are the Chances of Winning a Divorce Appeal in Texas?

The reversal rate or “winning” an appeal in a family law case has been reported between 20% and 50% depending on the source and type of family law case. It can be tough to win an appeal, as judges will start from the assumption that the original ruling was correct when looking at your case. It’s up to you and your divorce lawyer to prove that there was an error in legal procedure or how the law was applied to your case. Even if the appellate court judge considers the outcome of your case to be “unfair” – if there is no proof of a significant mistake in the legal process, the chances of winning are slim.

How to Win a Divorce Appeal

While the outcome of any case or appeal can never be guaranteed, you can improve your odds with the help of an experienced Texas family law attorney who understands the procedure for pursuing an appeal as well as the legal grounds for doing so.

To win your appeal, you’ll need to prove that the courts abused their discretion by acting arbitrarily or unreasonably or did not apply the appropriate principles, laws, or rules. This usually means one or more of the following:

• Your spouse concealed assets or important information during the court proceedings.
• Your evidence was excluded from court proceedings when it should have been deemed admissible.
• Inadmissible testimony and evidence were allowed to be used during the trial.
• New facts were discovered by you or your attorney after the trial that could not have been discovered prior to it.
• Your spouse or their attorney obtained the judgment by committing fraud or perjury.
• The judge made a mistake in the application of the law in your case.

If you and your attorney determine that you have grounds for an appeal, you’ll need to file the appeal in a timely manner. You typically have 30 days from when the divorce decree was signed by the judge to file a notice of appeal, and you’ll need to submit a brief statement with an explanation of why the divorce appeal is being filed as well as the trial transcript, evidence, pleadings, and any other additional documents. Putting all of this together can be time-consuming, and you’ll need to make sure that you are thorough in showing solid reasons for the appeal to maximize your odds of success. If you do not submit your appeal within the 30-day window, the terms may be final and you may be barred from making an appeal. The time to submit your appeal may be extended depending on other provisions of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure including a motion for new trial. It is important that you begin working on your appeal with an experienced family law attorney immediately after your case is finalized by the trial court.

The appellate court will take the time to review what you’ve submitted, but they will not always hear arguments. They also will not consider any new evidence or testimony aside from what was included in the appeal.

It could take months or even a year or more to get a response from the appellate court regarding your appeal. If the appellate court makes a ruling in your favor, they may reverse the lower court’s decision or send they may send the case back to the trial court for a new trial along with directives and clarifications based on the information considered by the appellate court.