Filing Your Own Appeal? We Draft the Brief. You File It.
Court-ready opening briefs, reply briefs, and petitions for review, drafted to the operative word limit and filed under your own name.
Representing yourself on appeal does not mean writing the brief alone. We frame every issue around the standard of review, build each argument against the trial-court record, and run a Bluebooked table of authorities. The brief comes back ready to file, with no attorney of record needed. See how it works.
Appellate deadlines are hard deadlines. Miss the briefing schedule and the appeal can be dismissed. Tell us your filing date and we set a confirmed delivery date in writing, with runway for you to review and file on time.
Briefs we draft for pro se appellants
Every brief is drafted to the operative FRAP or state appellate rule: the right word limit, the right standard of review, the right record citations. You would not be alone: about half of all federal appeals in fiscal 2025 were filed pro se (see our self-represented litigant statistics).
Opening brief
Issues framed to the correct standard of review, argued against the record.
Reply brief
Tight response to the appellee, no new authority, on the operative deadline.
Response / appellee brief
Harmless-error and waiver framing when you are defending the judgment.
Petition for review
Discretionary review and cert-style petitions drafted to the court's rules.
How it works
Tell us your case and your deadline
Share the court, the issues, the record, and your filing date. The deadline is set in writing so you always have runway to review and file.
We draft your brief, court-ready
Standard of review framed per issue, arguments built against the trial-court record, a Bluebooked table of authorities, and a strict FRAP or state word count.
You review and file it, under your own name
The brief comes back ready to file pro se. You file it yourself with the court. No attorney of record required.
Standard of review framed on every issue
Bluebooked table of authorities
Rush drafting for close deadlines
Confidential, your case stays private
Divorce Appeal: Appealing a Property Division, Pension or Support Order Without a Lawyer
A divorce appeal asks a higher court to correct a legal error in the family court's judgment: how a house, a pension, or a retirement account was divided, how an asset was classified, or how support was set. It is not a new trial. No new evidence comes in, and the appeal is won or lost on the record, the standard of review, and the deadline.
What you can appeal in a family case
The final judgment, including the property division and support orders in it. In California, Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1 also allows an appeal from an order made after an appealable judgment and from orders the Family Code makes appealable. Each appealable order carries its own deadline, so the first question is always which order starts your clock.
The standard of review decides how hard the appeal is
How the court divided property or set support is reviewed for abuse of discretion, which means showing the ruling fell outside the range the law allows. Pure legal questions, such as whether an asset is separate or community property when that turns on the law, are reviewed de novo, with no deference to the trial judge. Factual findings are reviewed for substantial evidence. Framing each issue under the right standard is often the difference between an argument the court engages and one it rejects in a sentence.
The record is the whole case on appeal
The court of appeal reads only what is in the record: the filed papers and orders (the clerk's transcript), the exhibits, and the reporter's transcript of each hearing. In California, admitted, refused, and lodged exhibits are deemed part of the record (rule 8.122(a)(3)), and an appellant who designates less than all the testimony must list the points on appeal and is then limited to them (rule 8.130(a)(2)). An error nobody can find in the record is, for the appeal, an error that did not happen.
What we draft for a divorce appeal
- Notice of appeal, timed to your state's deadline
- Designation of the record: the clerk's transcript documents, the exhibits, and each hearing for the reporter's transcript
- Opening brief, with the standard of review stated for every issue
- Reply brief answering the respondent's brief
- Petition or motion for rehearing after the court of appeal decides
You sign and file each one under your own name.
Divorce appeal deadlines by state
California(Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.104(a))
The notice of appeal is due at the earliest of 60 days after the clerk or a party serves a Notice of Entry of judgment or a filed-endorsed copy of the judgment, or 180 days after entry of judgment. Under rule 8.104(b), outside the emergency rule 8.66, no court may extend that time, and a late notice of appeal must be dismissed. Rule 8.108 extends the time only when a valid post-judgment motion is filed, such as a motion for new trial or a motion to vacate the judgment.
Texas(Tex. R. App. P. 26.1)
The notice of appeal is due 30 days after the judgment is signed, or 90 days after it is signed if any party timely files a motion for new trial, a motion to modify the judgment, a motion to reinstate, or a qualifying request for findings of fact and conclusions of law. Rule 26.3 lets the court of appeals extend the time only if, within 15 days after the deadline, the notice is filed in the trial court and a motion to extend is filed in the court of appeals.
Florida(Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(b))
The notice of appeal must be filed with the clerk of the lower tribunal within 30 days of rendition of the order being appealed. Under rule 9.020(h), an order is rendered when the signed, written order is filed, and a timely, authorized motion for rehearing, new trial, or to alter or amend tolls rendition.
After the notice of appeal, the briefing clock takes over. In California the opening brief is due 40 days after the record is filed in the court of appeal, the reply brief 20 days after the respondent's brief (rule 8.212(a)), and a petition for rehearing within 15 days after the decision is filed (rule 8.268(b)(1)).
Hidden assets are a set-aside problem, not an appeal problem. If the judgment rests on nondisclosure or fraud, such as a retirement account left off the disclosures, the fix is usually a motion to set aside the divorce judgment in the trial court. In California, Family Code section 2122 gives one year from when the fraud, perjury, or disclosure failure was or should have been discovered. We draft that motion too, and it can run alongside a timely appeal.
Pro se appeal questions
Can I appeal a divorce judgment that divided my pension or retirement account?
Often, yes, as long as the notice of appeal is filed on time and the error shows in the record. The final judgment is appealable, and in California so are orders made after judgment (Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1(a)(2)). The appeal court does not retry the case. It asks whether the trial court applied the law correctly, which it reviews fresh (de novo), and whether the division or support ruling was within the court's discretion. Characterizing an asset as separate or community property is reviewed de novo when it turns on a legal question. We draft the notice of appeal, record designation, and briefs; you file them.
Should I appeal or file a motion to set aside the divorce judgment?
They fix different problems. An appeal corrects legal error that appears in the trial court record. A motion to set aside reopens the judgment for things the record never showed, such as hidden assets or false financial disclosures. In California, Family Code section 2122 sets the grounds and deadlines: a motion based on actual fraud, perjury in the declarations of disclosure, or failure to meet the disclosure requirements must be brought within one year after the problem was discovered or should have been discovered. Do not assume a set-aside motion stops the appeal clock: file the notice of appeal on time, and pursue the set-aside motion alongside it when both apply.
Can I file an appeal brief myself, without a lawyer?
Yes. A pro se litigant represents themselves and files under their own name. Appellate courts accept briefs filed by self-represented parties as long as they meet the court's format and word-limit rules. We draft the brief to those rules; you sign and file it.
Do I need an attorney to sign it?
No. Because you are filing pro se, you sign and file the brief yourself. There is no attorney of record. We are a drafting service, not a law firm, and we do not appear in your case.
My deadline is close. How fast can you turn a brief around?
Turnaround is quoted per brief against your briefing schedule and the size of the record. Focused reply briefs move in a handful of business days, and rush drafting is available when a filing deadline is near. Your confirmed delivery date is set in writing up front.
Is my case kept confidential?
Yes. Your documents and the details of your matter stay private and are used only to draft your brief.
Legal Tank is a legal document drafting service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal representation or legal advice. Briefs are drafted for you to review, sign, and file.
Get your appeal brief drafted before the deadline
Tell us your court, your issues, and your filing date. We come back with a quote and a confirmed delivery date, then draft a brief you file under your own name.