Divorce Appeals
New Jersey Divorce Appeals
Helping you secure a fair and thorough legal resolution
Our team is dedicated to providing personalized legal solutions that de-stress divorce appeals for clients and their families. We leverage our up-to-date knowledge of New Jersey statutes and regulations to identify proactive strategies and help you seek resolution.
Appealing a Divorce Decree or Judgment in New Jersey
In any divorce, the ultimate goal is a fair and reasonable outcome between you and your partner. Unfortunately, divorce proceedings can sometimes be decided in ways that don’t adhere to New Jersey law.
If you feel your divorce wasn’t fairly resolved, you may have the opportunity to appeal your divorce ruling.
When should you appeal a divorce judgment?
Divorce appeals should generally be filed within 45 days of the final ruling. Because of the quick timelines in a divorce appeal, it’s essential to work with an experienced divorce appeals attorney who can help you efficiently navigate the processes and procedures of the appeals court.
Grounds for a divorce appeal
Divorce appeals are based on concerns that legal errors were made during your divorce proceedings.
There are several potential grounds for a divorce appeal in New Jersey. You may have grounds to file an appeal for your divorce ruling if you believe that the court failed to:
- Make sufficient findings of fact
- Address all issues
- Apply controlling law correctly
- Conduct a full hearing when necessary
You may also have grounds for a divorce appeal if you believe the court abused its discretion by ruling contrary to the evidence.
No matter what your grounds are, an appeal has to be based on the recorded evidence and hearing of your divorce proceedings—it isn’t an opportunity to present new evidence or issues that were already known but not included at the time.
The Divorce Appeal Process in New Jersey
Divorce appeals are legally complex and require in-depth technical knowledge of law and procedure. For this reason, individuals should work with an appellate court lawyer—one who has experience working with appeals and within the appellate court.
During an appeal, our appellate court attorneys submit a formal appeal to the New Jersey Appellate Division. Oral arguments for appeals are heard by a panel of judges at the Appellate Courts. There are several potential outcomes for a divorce appeal in New Jersey:
- Your appeal may result in a remand hearing on some or all of the issues raised in your appeal
- Your appeal may be advanced to the NJ Supreme Court as part of a Petition for Certification
- The Appellate Division may assert original jurisdiction over the case and issue a ruling themselves, although this outcome is rare
- Your appeal may be denied
If your appeal is denied, you may choose not to pursue the appeal any further at this point, but you also have the option of appealing your case to the NJ Supreme Court.
Divorce Appeal FAQs
The length of the appeals process varies significantly depending on the details of the case. That said, it’s not uncommon for the process to take a year or more. The process may also take longer if your case is complex, or if it proceeds to the NJ Supreme Court.
Several factors may influence your chances of winning a divorce appeal, but it’s especially important that you demonstrate solid grounds for seeking an appeal in the first place.
To achieve a successful appeal, your divorce appeals attorney needs to prove a legal error occurred during your initial divorce trial. The more substantial and more compelling the evidence your attorney provides, the better the chances of winning the appeal.
Both appeals and modifications may result in changes to your divorce decree, but they’re different legal processes and take place in different courts.
- A modification needs to be based on a change in circumstances and proceeds through the Superior Court
- An appeal is based on a legal error or irregularity and proceeds through either the Appellate Division or the NJ Supreme Court
Whether you’re seeking a modification or an appeal, there is a range of issues that may be changed, including:
- Child custody
- Child support
- Alimony
- Equitable distribution and property division
Schedule a Strategic Planning Session with our NJ Divorce Appeal Lawyers
At Jacobs Berger, our attorneys believe that all of our clients deserve a fair and correctly applied ruling, and supportive representation to help them achieve it.
We have decades of combined experience in appealing divorce rulings for clients. If you’re concerned that an error occurred in your divorce judgment, we can help you seek an appeal.
