Are you involved in a family law case? If so then you may have spent some time dealing with the decision of a family court judge regarding a particular motion or hearing. In short, the results of a family law case can hinge on the judge’s opinion regarding particular facts or circumstances of your case. When you receive word that a motion previously filed has been denied by the judge your first reaction may be anger. Why did the judge overrule you? Why didn’t the judge agree with your position in the motion? These are all valid questions to ask. The simple truth is that understanding why the judge ruled the way he did makes a difference for your case moving forward.
Instead of becoming irate but doing no homework after the fact, it is better to learn why the judge ruled the way he did. This is what our focus will be today with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our blog post focuses on understanding why a family court judge has ruled against you. There are almost always next steps to take considering your situation. This is where our office can help. The attorneys with our office are inside the family courts of Texas every day. We assist families in preparing for and overseeing family law cases. With that said, let’s examine how best to move forward when a judge rules against you in your case.
Family law cases are incredibly fact-specific
The facts and circumstances of your case matter a great deal. That’s not to say that bad facts cannot be overcome with preparation and good lawyering. However, it does mean that the better your facts are the more likely you are to be successful in your case. As a result, special attention should be paid to the issues relevant to your case. A parent who was just arrested for drunk driving should not be surprised that their motion to become the primary conservator of their children was just denied.
This may be a more extreme example, but the point holds. Many circumstances lead to judges siding against you in a courtroom. There are two types of situations where judges may overrule you. The first occurs via rulings made based on motions you filed. For example, suppose that a judge asked you and your co-parent to file briefs summarizing your arguments concerning a particular issue in your child custody case. So, your attorneys perform legal research and cite cases that are supportive of your positions. Both sides will file a motion with the court asking the judge to rule in their favor.
The judge will review all motions along with the briefs submitted and make a ruling. Sometimes the judge will ask the parties to come to court to speak to them directly on the issue. In many cases, however, the judge will simply issue a ruling and post it to the case file online. Receiving a phone call from your attorney that the judge did not side with you is not a fun situation. In many cases, you will be confused and upset at the judge deciding to rule against you. This is the first way that a judge may overrule or deny a request of yours.
Being overruled in court
On the other hand, you may also find yourself in a position where you and your attorney have been overruled in court. This is almost a more personal situation due to the overruling happening in front of you. Attorneys make objections and respond to objections in court all the time. Most often this is experienced in a contested hearing or trial. Your attorney may object to a particular piece of testimony given. Or your attorney may object to a type of evidence being offered into the record. In this type of situation, your attorney is trying to prevent evidence from being admitted into the case.
The opposing attorney will then have an opportunity to respond to your objection. Sometimes the attorney will have a well-thought-out and prepared response to the objection from your attorney. In other cases, the attorney will stammer and have a poorly thought-out response. In any event, the judge will listen to the response and determine whether to sustain the objection or deny it. How a judge responds to these issues may be critical to the outcome of your case.
A good example of the importance of how a judge rules on these types of topics comes into play when we consider evidence being offered into the record. Not all evidence obtained by a party is admissible. There is some evidence that is either untrustworthy or otherwise problematic in some way. When the evidence is not able to get into the record that can shift a case completely. Depending upon the plan you and your attorney have created it may be that your case is Now in serious trouble. How can you and your attorney respond to a situation like this?
Go back and examine the circumstances
Depending upon the context in which you were overruled there may be an opportunity for you to remedy the situation. Being overruled on an issue related to a hearing or trial may require you to file a motion for a new trial. An appeal is another option depending upon the timeline of your case and the length of time between your trial and the current date. These are all critical issues for you to cover with your attorney. When it comes to filing motions for new trials as well as appeals there are almost always relevant deadlines. Missing a deadline means missing an opportunity to cure a mistake made by the judge.
Post-trial motions: What to do if you disagree with a judge
Once you and your attorney have gone through a trial that means the record in your case is closed. No additional evidence may be submitted to the judge. Their ruling Is final but subject to different types of post-trial motions. These post-trial motions allow you to determine whether or not there are any open avenues to have the judge’s decision looked at. Several different situations may arise in a family law case after a judgment is issued. However, one of the most common which you may encounter results after a default judgment.
When your opposing party does not respond to a petition even though he or she was duly served that can result in a default judgment. A default judgment is a judgment issued by a court on one party’s defaults and their responsibility to participate. Think of it like a forfeit in a sports game. If your opponent does not show up to a sports game that team is said to have forfeited. You are where the victory was because the other party did not participate. This is true because your opponent was provided with details about where to show up and when the match began.
From the perspective of your opposing party, setting aside the default judgment is the goal. If you have received a default judgment against you there are opportunities to set aside that judgment. You will need to determine when you received notice of the default judgment and what actions you took to find out about the judgment against you. Finally, the reason why you did not participate in the proceedings is also relevant. Answering all these questions will determine how successful you may be in trying to set aside a default judgment.
Motions for New Trial
Put yourself in this position. One day you are minding your own business when you find out that a default judgment has been granted against you in a Texas family court. This comes as a great shock as you were never made aware of the circumstances. Your first step in determining what your next move will be is finding out the timeline of events. For instance, if the judgment has been signed but not entered by the court then you may file a motion for a new trial.
When you were not properly served with notice of the lawsuit or hearing you have grounds to have your motion approved. In the interest of fairness, the motion should be approved as long as you were able to show that you did not intentionally fail to appear. Additionally, if you had a good defense for the failure to participate that would also be grounds to have your motion for a new trial granted.
Timing is critical. Your motion for a new trial must be filed in the trial court within 30 days after the judgment was signed. Being as specific as possible in writing the motion is important. You must list the complaints that you have as well as why the decision against you was in error. The way you were “served” with notice is also important. Many times, respondents are served via publication when they cannot be served in person. Service by publication involves posting notice of the lawsuit in a magazine or newspaper.
A restricted appeal
Now let’s suppose that you had a judgment issued in default that was entered by the court. This means that the court not only signed the default judgment but it has now been entered by the court. A restricted appeal may be filed in the appellate court so long as it is done within six months of the date the judgment was entered. If he did not participate in the trial a restricted appeal is an available option for you. If you filed an answer but did not otherwise participate in the lawsuit then you cannot be said to have participated in the trial.
A Bill of Review
The bill of review is a post-trial motion which you may file up to four years after the default judgment was entered. You would need a very good reason for the judgment to be set aside. For instance, some bad act of the petitioner in your case would need to have led to the default judgment. For instance, if you were encouraged by the petitioner to not participate for whatever reason then that may be sufficient cause to have your bill of review granted. Essentially, so long as the default judgment was not issued because of negligence on your part then a default judgment may be set aside.
What if the judge rules against you regarding property division?
Property division is a major component of a Texas divorce. The laws on community property in Texas make it so that more property in Texas is susceptible to division than in many other states. As a result, the results of a Texas family law case hinge on property division and financial scenarios. Requesting a finding of fact and conclusions of law from the judge is one way to verify the methodology used by the judge when dividing property. The characterization of both your and your spouse’s assets, debts, and other disputed evidence must be presented in your request. A court then tells you its valuation of your debts and assets.
Appealing a trial court ruling
In many situations, it is difficult to understand and live with the decisions of a court. When you have certain expectations surrounding a case, a judge’s ruling may throw you off balance. Understanding that you have less time to spend with your children is a major shock to your system. The reality of having less money in the bank to spend on your daily needs is another concern that families share. Trying to decide to move forward in these types of scenarios is not easy. What sort of options do you have when a judge rules against you?
The state of Texas allows for a trial court’s decision to be appealed. The appellate process for a family law case is rarely straightforward, however. As a result, having the experience of a family law attorney to assist you in your appeal is critical. When you appeal your family court decision it means you are asking a higher court to review the judge’s methodology and decision. Texas has 14 appellate courts that can review District Court decisions. An appellate court looks to see if a mistake has been made in applying the law to your case which likely affected the ruling.
What issues may be appealed?
That appellate court may overrule the family court and issue a completely different decision. This has a wide-ranging impact on your divorce. Child custody, visitation, and even child support may be impacted by the decisions of an appellate court. With the potential to change the outcome of your case, it is incredibly important that you are prepared to draft a well-written brief to the appellate court. A summary of your arguments, points of potential error, and a request for relief. An experienced family law attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is prepared to help in a situation like this.
Can any divorce or child custody case be appealed?
One of the most important factors to bear in mind during this time is that a family court’s rulings cannot be appealed just for any reason. Commonly, one party in a family law case will disagree with some portion of the judge’s decision. However, an appellate court prioritizes the application of the law to your case. If the district court judge applies the law correctly and considers all your evidence the case will not be overruled. In other words, an appellate court judge does not substitute their judgment for a trial court judge.
Let’s say that you disagree with how a trial court judge divided your marital property. Your case was one where the judge awarded all marital property to Your wife. In Texas, a just and right division of marital property is the standard that a family court judge must abide by. With that in mind, you appealed the decision. In your brief, you argue that the judge ruled incorrectly in this situation.
In this scenario, the judge would have made an error. There may be circumstances in which awarding all marital property to one spouse would be justified. However, those circumstances are not relevant to your case. Awarding all community property to your spouse did not fall in line with state law on property division. Therefore, an appeal is justified in this type of scenario.
Moving forward with an appeal
Time is a factor when appealing a trial court’s decision. Before the expiration of 30 days after the trial court’s decision, you must file a notice of appeal with the clerk of that court. The clerk would then file your appeal with the appropriate Court of Appeals in Texas. Getting to this stage of a case is not easy. Having the help of an experienced family law attorney certainly is a positive for you.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.
Evan Hochschild was raised in Houston, TX and graduated from Cypress Creek High School. He went on to graduate from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with an undergraduate degree in Political Science. While in college, Evan was a four-year letterman on the Cross Country team.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle before him, Evan attended law school after he completed in his undergraduate studies. He graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law and has practiced in a variety of areas in the law- including family law.
Mr. Hochschild is guided by principles which place the interests of clients first. Additionally, Evan seeks to provide information and support for his clients with the heart of a teacher.
Evan and his wife have four small children together. He enjoys afternoons out and about with his family, teaching Sunday school at his church and exercising. A veteran attorney of fourteen years, Mr. Hochschild excels in communicating complex ideas in family law simply and directly.
