Custody appeals

[MJBlues66]

I am strongly considering a custody appeal. Can anyone here please give me an idea of what to realistically expect? What their experiences have been? The results? Thanks!

[hoosier_dad]

Appeals need to be specific to mistakes made in a judge's decision based on the evidence produced in the first round of court. The appeal also must be filed within the time limits of the appeal process in your state.

From your first post you stated:

We did orally agree on a settlement-but it is completely unfair-I feel that I was pressured to agree-just to get things over with by both attorneys and the law guardian who made threats against me.

Sounds like you are attempting to appeal an agreement rather than a judge's ruling.

In addition it appears NY requires the appeal to be filed within 30-35 days depending on how you received the original order. But your first post appears to state that the ruling/agreement that you want to appeal has been in place for months.

If you entered an agreement or are past the time limit to file an appeal then you really have no recourse except a future custody modification filing.

[dadmisseskids]

MJBlues66 wrote:
We did orally agree on a settlement-but it is completely unfair-I feel that I was pressured to agree-just to get things over with by both attorneys and the law guardian who made threats against me.


Sounds like you are attempting to appeal an agreement rather than a judge's ruling.

I don't know your history but I agree with Hoosier here. Saying you were pressured into an agreement is NOT grounds for an appeal. Further, you were represented by your attorney. You had a brain at the time to think about it, talk about it with your attorney and then make a decision. It sounds to me like you were on auto pilot during this time. In addition, you are appealing a settlement agreement, not a ruling by a judge. My guess is that you have a .00001% chance of winning an appeal.

I've been through an appeal but I was the appellee, not the appellant. Even though I didn't start the appeal, just to defend it was $6500. If you hire a lawyer and you are the appellant, plan on spending a lot more than that. My ex's appeal had much more teeth than what you have and she lost.

Just out of curiosity, is the crux of your appeal that you were "pressured" into an agreement? My ex said the same thing about our settlement agreement and the judge just rolled her eyes. If appeals were won on the basis of people being "pressured" into agreements, everyone could appeal and get another shot. No court order would be safe. you will never win an appeal because you felt "pressured."

[Fatheroffour]

To sum it up, buyers remorse is not valid grounds for appeal. Start looking for CoC.