Appellant James Roy Vaughn IV, acting pro se , attempts to appeal from a “Temporary Ex Parte Protective Order and Order Setting Hearing,” signed by the trial court on August 27, 2021. ^[1] This Court, however, has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a judgment that is not final, unless there is specific statutory authority permitting an appeal before final judgment. See T EX . C IV . P RAC . & R EM . C ODE A NN . § 51.012. It

appears that none of the exceptions to the rule that only final judgments can be appealed *2 applies in this case. See id. § 51.014 (listing interlocutory orders that may be appealed before final judgment is rendered in the case); T EX . F AM . C ODE A NN . § 81.009.

On October 12, 2021, we issued an order notifying the parties that the Court may dismiss this appeal unless, within ten days of the date of the order, a response was filed showing grounds for continuing the appeal. No response showing grounds for continuing the appeal has been filed. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction. See T EX . R. A PP . P. 42.3(a).

Absent a specific exemption, the Clerk of the Court must collect filing fees at the time a document is presented for filing. Id. R. 12.1(b); see id. R. 5. But Appellant filed a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs in this appeal on October 5, 2021. We conclude that Appellant is not required to pay costs in this appeal. See id. R. 20.1(a) (defining “costs” as “filing fees charged by the appellate court”).

MATT JOHNSON Justice

Before Chief Justice Gray,

Justice Johnson, and

Justice Smith

Dismissed

Opinion delivered and filed October 27, 2021

[CV06]

In re Marriage of Vaughn Page 2

[1] The temporary ex parte order has been extended.