Family Law Appeals

You may have the right to appeal an unfavorable outcome in your family law or divorce case. In the alternative, you may be forced to defend a decision by a trial court. Issues that may be appealed include, but are not limited to, civil contempt, criminal contempt, alimony, timesharing, child support, property distribution, attorneys’ fees, enforcing a marital settlement agreement, enforcing prenuptial, or postnuptial agreements, venue, domestic violence injunctions, relocation, parental decision making, and other final orders. In fact, even the failure of a trial court Judge to disqualify himself, or herself, can be appealable under certain circumstances. Under the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, appeals of non-final orders are generally limited to the trial court’s decision with regard to immediate monetary relief, such as temporary support orders, the rights or obligations of a party regarding timesharing, and that a martial agreement is invalid. The family law firm of Richard A. Schurr, P.A. provides appellate services to its clients who require assistance appealing a trial court’s decision, or defending a decision by a trial court. The appellate process includes asking the trial court to stay enforcement of its decision, and asking the appellate court to review the trial court’s decision to determine whether a mistake was made. It is very important to obtain appellate counsel timely as there are appellate deadlines that must be followed. Failure to comply with deadlines may cause you to lose valuable rights, including your right to challenge a trial court decision.

The Miami appellate attorneys at Richard A. Schurr, P.A. can review your trial court decision, and decide whether you have a basis to appeal, and then assist you in seeking to have the appellate court review and reverse the trial court’s decision. Alternatively, our attorneys can assist you in defending the trial court’s decision. Often times, we are hired to review pending matters to determine whether an appeal is likely and we can advise trial counsel of strategies to impact the outcome of the case in the event of an appeal.

For example, the Third District Court of Appeal recently emphasized the importance of a careful pleading when it came to seeking alimony. In Viscito v. Viscito, 214 So. 3d 736 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017), a case in which Richard A. Schurr, P.A., represented the Former Wife, the Former Husband’s request for bridge-the-gap alimony, rehabilitative alimony, and all other forms of alimony was denied at trial because the Former Husband only sought permanent alimony in his pleading so no other forms of alimony were available to him. In fact, the trial judge had determined that the Husband, while not entitled to permanent alimony, would have been entitled to other forms of alimony had he simply requested it in his pleadings. The attorneys at Richard A. Schurr, P.A. assisted the Former Wife in defending the trial court’s decision. The appellate court upheld the trial court’s decision in favor of the Former Wife on a variety of issues, including alimony and division of property. Please contact our Coral Gables divorce attorneys to assist you with any family law appellate issues.