In the Matter of the Marriage of Benita Sue Woods and Sammy Earl Woods and In the Interest of Samantha Justine Woods, Andrae Michael Woods, Stacy Deon Woods and Tracy Dawn Woods, Children--Appeal from 6th District Court of Red River County

In The

Court of Appeals

Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

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No. 06-06-00041-CV

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IN THE MATTER OF THE MARRIAGE OF

BENITA SUE WOODS AND SAMMY EARL WOODS

AND IN THE INTEREST OF SAMANTHA

JUSTINE WOODS, ANDRAE MICHAEL WOODS,

STACY DEON WOODS AND TRACY DAWN

WOODS, CHILDREN

On Appeal from the 6th Judicial District Court

Red River County, Texas

Trial Court No. CV00711

Before Morriss, C.J., Ross and Carter, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Morriss

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Sammy Earl Woods attempts to appeal the trial court's granting of a final decree of divorce signed August 8, 2005. His notice of appeal was filed April 6, 2006. We received the clerk's record May 4, 2006. The issue before us is whether Woods timely filed his notice of appeal. We conclude that he did not, and dismiss the attempted appeal for want of jurisdiction.

A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court's jurisdiction. Rule 26.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure prescribes the time period in which a notice of appeal must be filed in order to perfect appeal in a civil case. A notice of appeal is timely if filed within thirty days after the date the judgment is signed, or within ninety days after the judgment is signed if a document extending the time to file the notice of appeal has been timely filed. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a). Woods has filed pro se a "PETITION FOR FINAL DECREE OF DIVORCE BE VACATED IN THE MARRIAGE OF BENITA SUE WOODS & SAMMY EARL WOODS," which we deem to be a motion for new trial. Therefore, the last date Woods could timely file his notice of appeal was November 7, 2005, ninety days after the day the divorce decree was signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a)(1).

Woods has failed to perfect his appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

Josh R. Morriss, III

Chief Justice

Date Submitted: May 10, 2006

Date Decided: May 11, 2006