Family Law Appeals
If you are unhappy with a judgment that has been entered in your case, you have the right to appeal. Generally, in order to get a judgment reversed, one must show: (a) there was no substantial evidence to support the judgment; (b) the judgment was against the weight of the evidence, or (c) the judgment erroneously declares or applies the law.
In Missouri, generally all family law related appeals will initially go the Missouri Court of Appeals. After a judgment is entered, there are strict timelines that must be followed in order to prepare your appeal. Additionally, there are very stringent guidelines regarding the format of appellate briefs, and failure to submit the brief in the correct format could cause the court to dismiss the appeal. Because these technical rules must be followed, a party wanting to appeal a family law judgment needs to enlist the services of an experienced attorney.
Should I Appeal?
If you are undecided whether or not you wish to appeal, our attorneys can assist you in evaluating your chances of success of seeking or defending an appeal, estimate the amount of time and expense required to prepare your appeal, and offer you seasoned advice on whether or not filing a family law appeal would be beneficial for you. We encourage you to contact our office and speak to one of our family law attorneys if you are contemplating appealing a judgment, and to discuss further what the appeals process entails.
Our lawyers frequently conduct family law appeals to the Eastern District Court of appeals in St. Louis, as well as the Missouri Supreme Court.
Some of our successful appeals include:
- Harvey v. Harvey, No. ED93159 (2010)
- In re Marriage of Gardner, No. ED94126, ED 94164 (2010)
- Lucas v. Lucas, No. ED93175 (2010)
- Leskiw v. Breihan, No. ED92503 (2009)
- Nutt v. Grimes, No. ED89003 (2008)
- Burke v. Hutto, No. ED89526 (2007)
- Margolis v. Steinberg, No. ED88896 (2007)
- Hetherington v. Hetherington, No. ED88388 (2007)
- Dreppard v. Dreppard, No. ED88587 (2007)
