Appellate Process New Jersey

Let’s say, whether in real life or just hypothetically, you don’t get the child custody arrangement you wanted; in your opinion, the Court did not order enough in alimony to address your needs; you’re unhappy with the parenting schedule when it comes to winter break, or summer break— or both. In short, you’re dissatisfied with aspects of your divorce— even though you are, in fact, divorced.

There are many various reasons why, after your initial divorce proceedings conclude, you may decide to re-engage with the New Jersey Family Court system and consult with a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer. You’re appealing something the Court decided— because you feel it was decided wrongly or unfairly. Let’s look at why you may decide to consult a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer, how you should proceed, and what it might do for you:

Keep an eye on the calendar

First and foremost, be aware of the strict Court deadlines for filing an appeal or defending against an appeal. Your New Jersey Appellate Lawyer will advise you of the timeline for an appeal. 

Be realistic about your expectations

If you’re consulting with a lawyer— and, sometimes, clients may decide to engage a new lawyer who can bring a fresh pair of eyes to their issues— you need to speak with them realistically about what you hope to achieve. Can you really reset the custody arrangement? Is that amount of alimony feasible, given your ex-spouse’s job status? Was the Court truly and legally wrong in its decision? In consultation with a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer, you should be honest with them (and yourself) about what you hope to gain. 

Try to see the situation from your ex-spouse or your co-parent’s point-of-view

Of course, this is easier to read than to do it. Reengaging the Court, though, takes time and resources, and it will help you to view the scenario from across the negotiating table: did your ex-spouse’s promotion or demotion realistically impact his/her earnings that significantly? Did your co-parent have a legitimate reason to revise the parenting schedule (a grandparent’s funeral, a once-in-a-lifetime vacation)? If you can do this and see an issue that, upon reconsideration, you don’t want to readdress then you will have saved yourself time and money. However, if you do this and you still feel the decision needs to change, you’ll know you’re steadfast in your convictions and moving in the right direction. 

Don’t be afraid to use the New Jersey appellate process

Appeals exist for a reason, and though oftentimes divorce itself is messy, complicated, overly long, and sometimes costly, you may legitimately feel there’s reason enough to re-engage. 

Make sure you’re confident in your New Jersey Appellate Lawyer

Whether he or she is the original counsel you had in the divorce proceedings, or you’ve decided to seek new counsel, you want to be happy with your choice. What does that mean? You want to feel respected, listened to, heard. You want their encouraging though honest and educated opinions. If you consult with a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer, it likely means not everything went the way you wanted in the first place. Of course, let’s be honest: not everything is going to go the way you thought it would in the first place, especially because, if you’re reading this, you likely have firsthand knowledge of how difficult the divorce process can be. 

Appealing alimony

Has your ex-spouse received a raise, or a onetime bonus? Do you feel that the amount of money originally awarded by the court is just, and helps keep your family in the lifestyle to which you and they have become accustomed? On the other end of the spectrum, has there been a change in your life that necessitates you paying less alimony? The appellate process is the place to deal with your alimony concerns. 

Appealing child support

Are the kids not having their needs met? Is there not enough money in the middle of the month for all the food kids eat, the vital supplies they need, the sports they want to play? Child support has many considerations and factors, and if you feel you need more child support, an appellate lawyer may be able to help you get it. However, if you’ve been fired, downsized, laid off— if you’ve lost a source of income— you may feel that the amount of child support you’ve been paying out is, unfortunately, untenable. 

Appealing custody

Is the fifty-fifty joint custody arrangement the Court awarded not working out? Do you find your children are not thriving with the arrangement? Is your ex-spouse not spending the awarded time with your children? Oftentimes custody arrangements set out to replicate the balance of the marriage— but a post-divorce family isn’t that same married family, and it takes time to figure that out, to sort that out. So, for many reasons, you may wish to appeal your custody arrangement or your parenting time— or aspects of it: perhaps a particular holiday was unfairly awarded to your co-parent. 

There are many other issues in a divorce that the parties in the divorce many wish to appeal— and each one may have its own reason to do so. Even though it often upsets clients that the divorce proceedings took so long— and the Appellate process only adds to that—if you believe the Judge made a mistake, you may owe it to yourself to consult with a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer to determine if you should try and change it. We’re talking about your money, your time, your family— your life. 

We’re here to help you Move Forward— and sometimes that means taking a breath, reassessing, and taking a different step in a new direction to ultimately get you where you want to be. 

Need to consult with a New Jersey Appellate Lawyer? Call us, fill out the intake form, or email a dedicated Family Law paralegal to speak with the O’Cathain Law Group.