In the Interest of E.F., W.F., C.F., and C.F., Children, 02-26-00152-CV, April 16, 2026.
On appeal from 231st District Court, Tarrant County, Texas
Synopsis
The Fort Worth Court of Appeals granted the appellant’s voluntary motion to withdraw the appeal in a SAPCR matter involving four children and dismissed the appeal under Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 42.1(a)(1) and 43.2(f). The court also taxed all appellate costs against the appellant under Rules 42.1(d) and 43.4.
Relevance to Family Law
Even though this memorandum opinion is procedurally short, it is directly relevant to family-law appellate practice in custody and SAPCR litigation. In high-conflict conservatorship, modification, termination, and related post-judgment matters, parties sometimes reassess the value of continuing an appeal after settlement discussions, changed circumstances, enforcement risk, or strategic recalibration; this case confirms that a Texas appellate court may simply grant a voluntary withdrawal and dismiss the appeal, while still assigning appellate costs to the withdrawing appellant. For divorce litigators, the same procedural lesson applies in appeals involving property division, conservatorship, child support, and protective-order-related rulings: if your client wants out of the appeal, the exit path is available, but cost consequences and downstream trial-court effects must be evaluated before filing the motion.
Case Summary
Fact Summary
The opinion provides only a narrow procedural record. The appeal arose from the 231st District Court in Tarrant County in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship concerning four children, identified as E.F., W.F., C.F., and C.F. After the appeal was docketed in the Second Court of Appeals, the appellant filed a document titled “Appellant’s Voluntary Motion for Withdrawal of Appeal.”
There is no indication in the memorandum opinion that the court was asked to decide the merits of any conservatorship, possession, support, or procedural complaint from the trial court’s judgment or order. Instead, the only matter before the appellate court was whether to grant the appellant’s request to withdraw the appeal. The court considered that motion, granted it, and dismissed the appeal.
Issues Decided
- Whether the Second Court of Appeals should grant the appellant’s voluntary motion to withdraw the appeal in a SAPCR case.
- Whether the appeal should be dismissed after the voluntary withdrawal request.
- How appellate costs should be allocated following dismissal on the appellant’s motion.
Rules Applied
The court relied on the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure governing voluntary disposition and appellate judgments:
- Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1(a)(1), which permits dismissal of an appeal in accordance with a motion by the appellant.
- Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 43.2(f), which authorizes the court of appeals to dismiss the appeal.
- Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1(d), which addresses the taxation of costs when an appeal is voluntarily dismissed.
- Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 43.4, which governs the appellate court’s award of costs in its judgment.
This is not a merits opinion and does not announce a new substantive family-law rule. Its value is procedural: it illustrates the routine but important mechanics of ending an appeal by appellant request.
Application
The court’s application was straightforward and entirely procedural. Once the appellant filed a voluntary motion to withdraw the appeal, the appellate court treated that filing as a request for voluntary dismissal under Rule 42.1(a)(1). Because nothing in the opinion suggests any procedural impediment, controversy over the motion, or need to preserve a merits determination, the court exercised its authority to terminate the appeal rather than proceed further.
The court then entered the proper form of appellate disposition under Rule 43.2(f), dismissing the appeal. Having dismissed on the appellant’s own motion, the court also addressed costs. Consistent with Rules 42.1(d) and 43.4, it placed all appellate costs on the appellant. In practical terms, the court gave the appellant the relief requested—withdrawal and dismissal—but not without the ordinary consequence that the party electing to abandon the appeal bears the costs unless the court orders otherwise.
Holding
The court held that the appellant’s voluntary motion to withdraw the appeal should be granted. In doing so, the court ended the appellate proceeding without reaching any substantive issue that may have been raised from the SAPCR order below.
The court further held that dismissal of the appeal was the proper appellate judgment under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The disposition was therefore a dismissal rather than an affirmance, reversal, modification, or remand.
Finally, the court held that the appellant must pay all costs of the appeal. That allocation followed directly from the procedural posture: the appellant sought voluntary withdrawal, and the court taxed costs accordingly.
Practical Application
For Texas family-law litigators, the practical lesson is less about doctrine and more about appellate case management. A voluntary dismissal can be useful where the client has achieved a practical resolution outside the appellate process, where the appeal has become strategically disadvantageous, where compliance with the trial court’s order makes continued appellate litigation unnecessary, or where the record and standard of review make reversal improbable. But counsel should not treat dismissal as a purely administrative step. In SAPCR cases especially, dismissal leaves the trial court’s operative order in place unless some other agreement or order changes the parties’ rights and obligations.
Several strategic points follow:
- In custody and modification appeals, confirm whether the client understands that dismissal ends appellate review and generally leaves the challenged order undisturbed.
- In negotiated resolutions, address allocation of appellate costs expressly rather than assuming the court will do anything other than tax them against the appellant.
- In cases involving multiple parties or overlapping proceedings, consider whether a unilateral withdrawal could create collateral consequences in enforcement, modification, or future mandamus practice.
- In divorce appeals, the same principle applies to property division and support issues: abandoning the appeal may solidify the trial court’s judgment and eliminate leverage that existed only while the appeal was pending.
- Where settlement is the real reason for dismissal, practitioners should make sure the dismissal timing aligns with the parties’ written settlement obligations and any necessary trial-court filings.
This opinion also serves as a reminder that family appeals can end quietly and quickly. If you represent the appellee, a voluntary dismissal may be a favorable outcome, but you should still review the motion, protect any cost position, and consider whether any ancillary appellate filings remain necessary.
Checklists
Before Filing a Voluntary Motion to Dismiss
- Confirm the client’s decision is informed and documented in writing.
- Review whether dismissal will leave the trial court’s SAPCR or divorce order fully intact.
- Evaluate whether any stay, supersedeas, or temporary appellate relief will dissolve upon dismissal.
- Determine whether there is a settlement agreement that should be finalized before dismissal is filed.
- Assess whether any collateral proceedings—enforcement, modification, termination, or protective-order litigation—will be affected by ending the appeal.
- Consider whether the client is prepared to bear appellate costs.
Drafting the Motion
- Identify the case correctly, including style, cause number, and appellate cause number.
- Title the filing clearly as a voluntary motion to withdraw or dismiss the appeal.
- Cite Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 42.1(a)(1) and 43.2(f).
- State plainly that the appellant seeks dismissal of the appeal.
- Address costs expressly if the parties have an agreement or if different cost treatment is requested.
- Ensure the filing complies with appellate procedural and formatting rules.
Advising Family-Law Clients About Consequences
- Explain that dismissal usually ends any opportunity for appellate merits review in that proceeding.
- Explain that the trial court’s order remains operative absent some independent basis for change.
- Discuss whether dismissal affects conservatorship, possession, support, injunction, or property obligations currently in force.
- Warn the client that appellate costs are commonly taxed against the dismissing appellant.
- Confirm whether future relief, if needed, will have to come through modification, enforcement, or other new proceedings rather than the dismissed appeal.
If You Represent the Appellee
- Review the motion promptly and decide whether to oppose any requested cost allocation.
- Determine whether the dismissal fully resolves the appellate dispute or whether any ancillary motions remain pending.
- Confirm whether dismissal affects any settlement performance obligations.
- Preserve documentation of taxable appellate costs.
- Evaluate whether dismissal changes the posture of related trial-court litigation.
Avoiding the Appellant’s Downside
- Do not file an appeal reflexively without early reassessment of merits, cost, and objectives.
- Do not wait until substantial appellate costs accrue before deciding whether to dismiss.
- Do not assume dismissal is consequence-free simply because it is voluntary.
- Do not overlook how dismissal may strengthen the finality and enforceability of the order being challenged.
- Do not leave cost allocation unaddressed if there is an opportunity to negotiate it.
Citation
In the Interest of E.F., W.F., C.F., and C.F., Children, No. 02-26-00152-CV, 2026 WL ___ (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Apr. 16, 2026, no pet.) (mem. op.).
Full Opinion
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