Divorce

Once a judge issues a final divorce decree after a trial, either party may have a couple of options to address any errors during the trial. The most common are:

• a motion for reconsideration in which you are asking the judge to reconsider his/her ruling and change the decree. This may be an option if you believe the judge:
  
  • didn’t consider or examine certain evidence;
  • applied the law incorrectly to your case; or
  • there’s new evidence you were not able to show the judge; and
• an appeal in which you ask a higher court to review a decision by a judge in a lower court (trial court) because you believe the judge made a mistake.

You can find more information about each option in the After a Decision is Issued section on our Preparing for Court – By Yourself page. If you are interested in filing a motion for reconsideration or an appeal, it’s extremely important to contact an attorney as soon as possible due to the following reasons:

1. Both alternatives have a very short turnaround time. For most states, the typical timeframe for reconsideration is around 15 days, and for an appeal, it is 30 days. You would need to confirm the timeline in your state. After that time has passed, there are usually no other options available.
2. Deciding which alternative to use and what to include in the filing papers should be part of a well-thought-out legal strategy. For example, a person may not want to file a motion for reconsideration if s/he also plans to appeal to a higher court.
3. The process for correctly filling out, filing, and serving the legal papers can vary on a case-by-case basis. Any errors could make the filing ineffective and leave you without the relief you are seeking.