What Happens if My Family Law Modification in Atlanta Fails?

If you have failed to modify a family law court order in Georgia, you may need to assess your next steps. Is this really the end of the legal battle? Can you ask the court for a second chance? Perhaps you’re trying to determine whether to file a petition for a modification, and you want to understand the risks before you proceed. Whatever the case may be, a conversation with a family law attorney in Atlanta could provide you with important insights.

Consider an Appeal 

If the trial court has rejected your petition to modify custody, alimony, or child support, you could always consider an appeal. When someone files an appeal of this nature, they ask a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court. The goal is to highlight some kind of error that occurred at the trial level.

If your appeal is successful, you may be able to get the higher (appellate) court to reverse the decision made by the lower court. Alternatively, the appellate court might send the case back for a new trial.

Appeals are somewhat risky, and there is no guarantee of success. They also represent additional legal fees and an entirely new, time-consuming process. There is always a chance that your appeal will fail, and you should accurately assess your chances of success before moving forward.

Perhaps most notably, you must identify some kind of error at the trial level if you want to file a successful appeal. If no error occurred, it probably isn’t worth filing an appeal. There is no point in filing an appeal just because you didn’t like the judge’s final decision.

File a New Petition 

Sometimes, it makes more sense to file an entirely new petition for modification. If you know where you went wrong the first time, you could go back to the drawing board, strategize, and return to court with a revised petition. If you address the mistakes you made the first time around, your chances of success could be much greater.

Wait Until the Court Order Ends

Another option is to simply wait until the court order ends. For example, you might face only a few more years of paying alimony before these obligations cease. It doesn’t make sense to invest time and money into appeals and new petitions if your payments will stop by default anyway. The same logic applies to child support, especially if your child is only a few years away from their 18th birthday.

Can a Family Law Attorney in Atlanta Help Me? 

If your attempt to modify custody, alimony, or child support has failed, you may have additional options. From filing appeals to submitting new petitions, there are many steps you can take. That being said, sometimes it makes more sense to accept defeat and avoid wasting any more of your hard-earned money on legal fees. To assess your next steps in more detail, contact our Atlanta family law attorneys at Buckhead Family Law today.

Sources: 

ca11.uscourts.gov/

fultoncountyga.gov/inside-fulton-county/fulton-county-departments/superior-court