After a divorce is finalized, some may feel stilted or left out in the cold. This could be the case when one party in the divorce is awarded an exorbitant or seemingly unfair settlement given the circumstances of the divorce. For example, if the wife is caught cheating and then all marital property is equally distributed—even though the husband is the primary breadwinner in the family—the husband may feel that the ruling is unfair.
Another example of when a ruling may seem worthy of reconsideration is when a father is awarded custody or shared custody, yet during the marriage he had not been active or present in his child’s life. However, a converse example is when a father is subjected to child support payments that do not seem just or fair depending on his income.
Though these are decrees made in a state court, they are not without option of being reconsidered. Any time that a divorce agreement or settlement is reconsidered, it is known as post-decree modification. If you feel that you have been unfairly considered in a divorce proceeding, the most important step is to contact an attorney who has experience with post-decree modifications. A modification of the reconsideration is usually not a financial or timely option for involved parties.
According to WomensDivorce.com, a post-decree modification can be a very drawn-out process since “you are asking an appellate court to overturn a lower court’s decision.” However, it could be the best thing for you and your future life. This is especially important if you have children and any of the divorce rulings involved issues that you feel may not be in the best interest of your shared child. A settlement violation is not grounds to overturn the divorce, but repeated examples of settlement violations may be if they have negatively affected shared children.
It is also important to remember that even a notarized agreement of decree modification cannot be legally upheld, as noted by WomansDivorce.com. For any decree modification to be legal, it must be done in court.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about post-decree modification, contact a DuPage County divorce attorney at the law offices of Mulyk Laho Law, LLC today.