Question:
I received what I believe to be an unfair divorce judgment. My wife and her lawyer both lied in court. I would like to appeal the decision, but my attorney is hesitant.
How do I determine if appealing the decision will be worth my while?
Answer:
While I am not licensed to practice law in your state and cannot give you legal advice, I can give some general observations on this issue based on the jurisdiction where I practice.
Family law is based on state specific statute. I am licensed to practice in Nebraska only. It is important that you contact a family law attorney licensed in your state of residence who practices primarily in domestic litigation to get legal advice specific to your case.
There are usually very specific and rigid deadlines that you must be aware of after a final judgement is entered. For instance, you may have only 10 days after the judgement is entered to ask the court to re-open the record to get new evidence entered not initially addressed at trial.
Also, there is likely a 30-day deadline to file a Notice of Appeal and reserve your ability to pursue the appeal.
I would strongly urge to set up an appointment with your attorney as soon as possible to discuss exactly what his/her reservations are, what the post-judgement deadlines are, and the ramifications of you taking post-judgment action versus not taking post-judgement action.
Appeals can be very expensive, so if your concern is over a piece of property that is only worth $500, then it is not likely going to be cost efficient for you to pursue a post-judgment action.
Also, if there is no way to prove that anyone lied in court, then perhaps taking action on the issue would not be worth your billable time. This kind of cost-benefit analysis is something that you and your attorney need to immediately.
Not all issues “missed” at trial are worth pursuing. You need to talk with attorney to decide if the issues you have will actually have a high likelihood of resulting in a financial gain or not.
To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Nebraska divorce lawyer Nancy Shannon, contact Cordell & Cordell.
