A motion for new trial in Texas family law is your request that the same judge who ruled against you take another look before you spend the time and money on an appeal. You have 30 days from the date the judge signs the final judgment to file it, and the court has 75 days from that same signing date to rule or the motion is overruled automatically. Filing one also stretches your appeal deadline from 30 days to 90, which is often reason enough to file even when reversal feels unlikely.
Grounds a Texas Family Court Will Actually Consider
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 320 lets a court grant a new trial “for good cause,” including when a property division or damages award is clearly too high or too low.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure That language is broad, but judges want something concrete. Four categories do most of the work in family cases.
Newly Discovered Evidence
If important evidence surfaces after trial that you could not have found earlier, you can move for a new trial on that basis. Rule 324(b)(1) actually requires you to raise this ground in a motion for new trial before you can raise it on appeal.2South Texas College of Law. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 324 – Prerequisites of Appeal Under the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Jackson v. Van Winkle, the evidence must have been discovered after trial, your failure to find it earlier cannot be due to lack of diligence, it cannot be merely cumulative, and it must be significant enough that it would probably change the outcome. In family cases this often looks like an undisclosed bank account, hidden income, an unreported criminal history, or a child-safety concern that came to light after the judgment was signed.
Legal or Procedural Errors
Judges sometimes get the law wrong. A misapplied provision of the Family Code, the wrong legal standard on a custody question, or an evidentiary ruling that skewed the trial can all support a motion. Procedural failures count too. If you were shut out of presenting key testimony, blocked from cross-examining a critical witness, or ambushed with last-minute evidence you had no chance to answer, those are the kinds of due-process problems courts take seriously.
Fraud or Misconduct
This is where family motions for new trial gain the most ground. A spouse who conceals assets, lies about income, or fabricates evidence undermines the entire proceeding. Courts have set aside property divisions where a spouse deliberately hid bank accounts or business interests. If you can show the other side’s dishonesty infected the judgment, the court has real reason to start over.
Default Judgments
A large share of these motions follow default judgments, where one party never appeared and the court ruled without them. Under Craddock v. Sunshine Bus Lines, the court will set aside a default if the failure to appear was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference, the defaulting party has a meritorious defense, and granting the new trial will not cause unfair delay or prejudice. In divorce and custody, this most often involves a respondent who was improperly served or genuinely never received notice.
The 30-Day Deadline to File
Rule 329b(a) gives you 30 days after the judge signs the final judgment to file your motion.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure The deadline is hard. Miss it and the court has no authority to consider the motion at all. The clock runs from the signing date, not from the day you receive notice, so you have to watch the docket.
Rule 329b(b) lets you file amended motions without asking the court’s permission, provided you file the amendment within that same 30-day window and before the court has overruled the original.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Lawyers use this routinely to tighten arguments or add grounds that become clear once the court’s findings are on paper.
The 75-Day Clock and Plenary Power
Once a judgment is signed, the trial court has what Texas lawyers call plenary power: the authority to grant a new trial, vacate the judgment, or modify it. Without a motion for new trial, that authority lasts only 30 days from the signing date.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
A timely motion extends it. Under Rule 329b(e), the court keeps that power until 30 days after all timely motions are overruled, whether by written order or by operation of law. Here is where the 75-day mark matters: under Rule 329b(c), if the judge has not ruled by written order within 75 days of signing the judgment, the motion is overruled automatically by operation of law.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure The court then has another 30 days of plenary power on top of that, bringing the maximum window to 105 days from the original judgment.
After plenary power expires the trial court cannot change the judgment. Under Rule 329b(f) the only remaining path is a bill of review, which is a separate lawsuit with a much heavier burden of proof.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Letting the clock run out narrows your options sharply.
What Can Happen at the Ruling Stage
Texas law does not require a hearing on every motion. Many are decided on the papers, especially when the grounds are purely legal. Motions raising factual disputes, such as claims of hidden assets or newly discovered safety concerns, often draw an evidentiary hearing where the moving party carries the burden and typically supports the motion with affidavits, documents, or live testimony.
If the court grants the motion, the judgment is set aside and the case reopens. Both sides can present additional evidence and argue for a different result. The court also has discretion under Rule 320 to grant a partial new trial limited to specific, clearly separable issues, such as retrying the property division while leaving custody intact. If the court denies the motion by written order, the judgment stands. If the court does nothing, the motion is overruled automatically at 75 days and the judgment stands the same way.1Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
How Filing the Motion Protects Your Appeal
This is the part people miss. Under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, the normal deadline to file a notice of appeal is 30 days after the judgment is signed. If any party files a timely motion for new trial, that deadline stretches to 90 days from the signing date.3Texas Courts. Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure The extension applies whether the motion is granted, denied, or overruled by operation of law.
In a contested family case, that extra 60 days can decide whether you get a meaningful appeal at all. It gives you time to order the trial transcript, consult appellate counsel, and evaluate the record before committing. Experienced family lawyers often file the motion in any case they might need to appeal, even when the motion itself is a long shot, because the appellate cushion alone is worth it.
What Happens to Custody, Support, and Visitation in the Meantime
A pending motion does not suspend the judgment. You have to keep paying support, follow the custody schedule, and comply with everything the order requires. Texas courts have consistently held that neither a pending motion nor a pending appeal excuses noncompliance, and violating a court order can trigger enforcement actions, contempt, fines, or jail in serious cases.
If the motion is granted and the judgment is set aside, any previously entered temporary orders on custody, visitation, and support can remain in place unless the court modifies them. Judges have room to adjust those interim arrangements, particularly when the motion was granted based on new information that changes the picture for the children, such as a substance-abuse issue or a previously unknown safety concern.
Default Judgments Against Servicemembers
Federal law adds protection when a default judgment is entered against someone on active military duty. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a court must require the party seeking the default to file an affidavit stating whether the other party is in military service, and if the court cannot determine military status it may require a bond to protect the servicemember from losses if the judgment is later set aside.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
A servicemember who receives a default judgment during active duty, or within 60 days after leaving military service, can ask the court to reopen it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments In Texas family court this most often comes up when a deployed spouse was not properly notified and a default divorce divided property, ordered support, or awarded custody. If the military affidavit was never filed, or was filed with false information, that alone can be grounds for vacating the judgment.