Statement of Decision After Trial – CCP 632

A family law trial ends with the judge announcing a decision. What it often does not end with, unless someone asks, is an explanation.

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 632, after a trial on a question of fact, the court must issue a statement of decision explaining the factual and legal basis for its decision on each of the principal controverted issues, but only if a party requests it. The request must be made within ten days after the court announces its tentative decision, or, if the trial took less than one day, or less than eight hours spread over more than one day, before the matter is submitted. The requesting party identifies the issues on which an explanation is wanted; the other party may propose additional issues.

The statement matters most for an appeal. Without one, an appellate court presumes the trial judge made every finding necessary to support the judgment, and an appeal becomes very difficult. With one, the losing party can point to specific findings and argue that the evidence does not support them or that the law was misapplied.

Because the deadline is short and easily missed in the aftermath of a trial, the decision whether to request a statement should be made before the trial starts, not after the ruling.