leaking transmission in reverse only

my little sister owns a 1997 ford escort esc L wagon. recently it started to leak transmission fluid when its put into reverse. it drives fine forward with no leaks. what could be causing it ? when the car is reversed, it leaves trails of fluid. i told her to get rid of the car and take the bus, but with a limited budget and 2 kids, she needs the car. please help

Welcome to AF!

Check the level of the ATF. It could be over full, giving you the problems you describe.

Almost any automatic transmission leak means $$$ but just for shiggles, where's transmission leaking from?

I once came across a leak like that. It was on a Chrysler, and it was leaking from a pan on the side of the transmission. This side pan was in addition to the regular pan at the bottom of the transmission. Someone before me tried to fix the leak by replacing the bottom pan gasket, which of course, had no effect.