Q: Should I appeal courts decision on the visitation they gave my ex? I am the father & the parent of primary residence.
Months after my divorce was final in 2020, my ex took me to court for 50/50 custody. At the time she had visitation every other weekend and a night for dinner during the week. The judge denied her request and sent us to mediation. At mediation I felt like I had to give up something so we agreed on every other weekend, every Friday into Saturday and one night for dinner. A few months later, I stopped working on Saturdays and we agreed verbally through text that I would have one of my Fridays back so that I could have a full weekend with our daughter. She just took me back to court again stating she never agreed for me to have a full weekend.. and she asked for Wednesday night into Thursday morning as well. We live 30 mins apart and Our daughter is 9 years old. I provided several text messages in my exhibits that proved she did agree for me to have one full weekend a month The judge ultimately gave her every Friday again and every Wednesday into Thursday. My daughter is not happy at all.
A: The filing of an appeal of a trial court's decision on a custody/parenting time decision must be within 45 days of the date of the order. Appeals are also expensive and time consuming. My suggestion is that you meet with a family law attorney experienced in handling family law appellate work to discuss the issues presented to the trial court ( give the lawyer a complete copy of your filings with the court and a complete copy of your ex's submissions ( with all attachments for both submissions) so that the lawyer can see what was advanced and then be in a better position to advise you of the likelihood of the appellate court reversing the trial courts decision.
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A: Appeals are rarely successful and will usually require a retainer of $25,000.00 just to get started. It is not likely that an Appellate Court will overrule the trial judge unless it is shown that the trial judge abused their discretion or made an unjustifiable decision. You are going to need an experienced matrimonial appellate attorney and you have to remember this is not a new trial. Good luck.
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