Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

By Jennifer M. Paine

Cordell & Cordell Divorce Lawyer

You may be unsatisfied with your trial judge's ruling. You may have a right to appeal your divorce case. But should you?

It is easy to say "yes" when you are in the immediate afterglow of litigation and facing an unfavorable ruling. Many jurisdictions make it even easier by giving you an "automatic right" to appeal certain rulings, meaning you do not have to obtain permission for the appeal.

And, many of those jurisdictions require only a one-paragraph form and a filing fee – filed online no less. Within minutes, with a few clicks of the mouse and a single charge to your credit card, you could be appealing your case.

But wait! Having a right to appeal your divorce case does not necessarily mean you should, and acting on initial reactions to a trial judge's ruling could leave you worse off and heavily indebted to attorneys. Sometimes, it is better to accept a ruling and move forward.

Before you decide, consider these 10 questions:

Question:

My ex-wife and I broke our apartment lease when we separated and owe several thousand dollars to the property manager that should be treated as a marital debt.

Our divorce decree did not address this debt, and now the collections company is coming after me to satisfy this obligation.

Is there anything I can do as far as getting my ex-wife to contribute a portion of this debt since her name was also on the lease? She has refused to pay anything thus far.

Question:

During my ex-wife's parenting time, she often has her elderly parents look after our small children in lieu of daycare.

I'm fine with her using family members to provide child care, but I have concerns over my children’s safety while with their grandparents, who are unhealthy and too old to properly care for toddlers.

Do I have any say in who will be watching our children during my ex-wife's parenting time?

Question:

I owned half of my house prior to marriage and the other half of the house was transferred to me as a gift after my marriage, so the house is fully paid off with no contributions from my soon-to-be-ex-wife.

No marital funds were used for anything involving the purchase of the house, though both my wife and I live there as our primary residence.

Is this house now considered a "marital home" subject to equitable distribution property division laws?

Question:

According to my state's child support laws, I am in danger of paying charged with a felony for nonsupport.

I already have a prior arrest record, though it is unrelated to failure to pay child support.

Will the judge take into consideration my prior arrests when issuing a judgment?