Divorce is final once the appropriate paperwork is signed, right? Not exactly. In some cases, there may be some room for you and your partner to change your minds, reversing your divorce.
Love Will Keep Us Together
Going through a divorce can sometimes make two people realize how much they love and want to be together. Even after all the lawyers and the custody battles, couples may try to give their marriage another go, by consulting a therapist, spending more time together, or finding common ground.
Stopping Your Divorce
If you have decided to reverse or appeal your divorce as you just want to change the settlement agreement, this can get quite difficult to reverse in court.
However, if you want to reverse your divorce because you and your partner have decided to stay married, you may be able to cancel it under the following specific conditions:
Do Not File
If you haven’t officially filed for divorce yet, simply do not file.
Withdraw The Divorce
If you change your mind soon after filing for divorce, you may be able to simply withdraw your divorce petition. To stop the process, you will need to contact the Court clerk where you filed the application and ask to withdraw, or this may be done by simply filing the appropriate form. You may need to provide specific reasoning and deal with a presumption of costs that may be sought by the other side.
Presumably, if you are reconciling, there will be an agreement that the application be withdrawn on a without costs basis.
Voluntary Dismissal
If you have reconciled after filing for a divorce but aren’t too far gone in the process, you might be able to file papers for voluntary dismissal. If you and your partner agree to remain married, you can ask the court to dismiss the case on the mutual consent of the parties. However, you will likely need to pay a filing fee and fill out additional paperwork. In this process, you would also have to deal with costs i.e. state in the court order that the matter is dismissed “without costs”.
Contact Epstein & Associates
If you’ve already started the filing process for divorce but haven’t finalized it, it is easier to change your mind and reconcile. However, this process can still be tedious and require a lawyer’s guidance.
Contact us for more information.