Uncontested divorce was finalized 30 days ago and now ex has decided to file a motion to retry. Apparently her meddling mother has convinced her that she was bullied or coerced to sign the decree and go along with everything. Here's the kicker...she's still in the house! She won't move out and isn't being forced to leave for the sake of the kids and the agreement made. Doesn't she need to prove the court made a mistake (which it did not) or that the whole thing was unfair? She gets spousal support and doesn't pay child support. Will contact a lawyer, but just wanted to see how common this was or what the chances are the court would undo the original final decree. Thanks for any words of wisdom.
You may be able to oppose the motion purely upon the length of time between signing the decree and the filing of the motion. You should hire an attorney now to represent you. Your attorney may be able to leverage the threat of agreeing to the motion to retry the divorce so your attorney can haul her into court and put her in a less favorable decree than what she has now.
Consult with an attorney right away. If the court grants a hearing on the motion for new trial, the hearing can be set with as little as 3 days notice. This may not be sufficient time for an attorney to get up to speed on the case. It is unlikely that she will prevail based on the information you provided, but some cases have. If she were to be awarded a new trial the costs of your case will increase significantly. Being prepared is your best option at this point.
Motions for new trials when a waiver has been signed or there has been a sign off on the judgment is generally only set aside when fraud can be proven. You need to lawyer up pretty quick.
In theory, she can ask for a new trial within thirty days. In practice, it is pretty rare for such a motion to actually be granted when both sides signed a waiver and an agreed judgment. Unless she can prove fraud, she will probably be out of luck, but you DEFINITELY need a lawyer to help. Best of luck to you.
How many days were there between the date the judge signed the decree and tge date she filed her motion? Was she present for the prove-up? Take these answers to a lawyer ASAP.
