Is this appeal worthy? I just went through a 10 day trial over a non-parental custody petition filed by my wife's brother and his wife over my son. He has been in their home primarily over the last 6 years and they have 3 children of their own. My son just turned 13. The other kids are 6, 4, 2. The petitioners didn't allege unfitness by either my wife or I. They alleged detriment, and not long term, by his being limited on seeing them and cousins.The judge in his verdict did not specifically say "detriment" but rather harmful to the cousins if they didn't get to see them.The judge awarded 50/50 time split between families with myself having medical and educational decision making. This verdict, in my opinion, goes against the constitutional right of a parent caring for their child. Appeal?
It's important that if you have any notion of going through with an appeal that you see an appellate attorney immediately because you only have a 30 day limit to file an appeal and then you are barred from doing so. Based on your fact pattern, I don't see why you wouldn't want to appeal. However, and this is a big however, there are additional facts which are not listed here and there is more to this case than this synopsis. Therefore, I cannot advise you, based on this short synopsis, whether your appeal has merit. I don't know the nature of the problems between you, your wife and her family, nor do I know why the child was there for the last six years. You would be well-advised to see an appellate attorney who is well-versed in family law immediately. Best of luck to you.
To analyze the merits of an appeal in family law cases requires what is known as due diligence and cannot be done over the internet. You need to schedule an appointment with an Appellate attorney to go over all the facts, especially if the trial was 10 days long which is extraordinary for a family law case. You only have 30 days after the final order was signed to file a Notice of Appeal so waste no time in scheduling an appointment.
You should consult with an experienced family law attorney about the merits of any appeal. Appeal is very complicated and expensive. It’s always best to consult with a good family law attorney to discuss the details before you act. See my Legal Guides on non-parental custody cases for more information about the legal issues raised by your inquiry. Please keep in mind that although these Legal Guides are often informative, they are no substitute for legal advice from an attorney you have retained for consultation or representation. Click on my photo. On my home page click on "View Contributions" or scroll down further and click on "Legal Guides." Scroll down the list of my 29 Legal Guides and select the topics relevant to your question. If you like my answer and Legal Guides, please make sure you mark them as “helpful.”
