Q: Best way to appeal a verdict from a relocation/ custody relocation case from Judge Carney

A: There is no "best way" to appeal any order from any judge in family court. The appellate standard is that the decision of a judge shall not be lightly overturned unless it lacks a sound and substantial basis in the record. This means that Carney, a Buffalo judge and former practitioner in a very high-end, aggressive practice, would have had to make ridiculous decisions, and she would have had to maneuver testimony and sanitize the record which is highly doubtful that she did. If she did, then that would be the best way to appeal her.

None of this means there is an appealable case. An attorney versed in appellate practice would need to review the entire record and take a calculated risk that an appeal will prevail. Some inadequate records are masked by multiple pages of findings that do not relate at all to the large number of factors that go into a custody decision whether for an initial award of custody or for a modification of custody.

It is not clear what the asker means by having fifty days to present an appeal. We do not present appeals, w either file notice of appeal or we perfect appeals. We do not know what the fifty days refers to. Many do-it-yourselfers take advice of clerks and cops when they navigate the turbulent waters of a family court. These fathers take bits and pieces of inaccurate advice to fashion a mess that rarely brings results.

One New York father recently did-it-himself and overturned an order of support at the appellate division, but failed to notify the municipality of his intent to sue. That is a motion to dismiss for an untimely service of notice, and the father got zero recovery despite all the leg work.