Divorce is an expensive legal process, with Washington County Chancery Court filing fees ranging from $220 to $337, depending on whether children are involved and whether the sheriff serves the other party. Add attorney’s fees, court costs, document preparation fees, court-ordered classes, mediation, and other potential expenses, and divorce can easily cost between $5,000 and $25,000 in Tennessee. Therefore, when you want to appeal your divorce, you may think you could save money by representing yourself. However, does self-representation in divorce appeals truly save money? Does it result in the desired outcome, or does it create more problems? Pro se litigants, or people representing themselves, face several challenges in appealing their divorces. Before deciding to take this battle on yourself, speak with an experienced Tennessee divorce attorney at King Law Offices to learn more about your legal rights and options and how you can protect yourself in an appeal. Call (888) 748-5464 to book your appointment.
Grounds for Divorce Appeals in Tennessee
Before deciding whether self-representation in divorce appeals is right for them, individuals should understand that there are limited reasons to file such an appeal. Simply not liking the outcome is not considered grounds for an appeal in Tennessee. A divorce appeal is intended as a remedy when someone believes that a judge made an error in their ruling. While someone may view an outcome they do not like as an error, in this context, it must be a legal error, not just what one believes to be a wrong decision.
The legal errors that are grounds to appeal a divorce include:
- Misinterpretation and incorrect application of case or statutory law
- Improper legal procedure during the trial
- Misunderstood facts presented during the trial
- Abused discretion regarding some issues (such as awarding alimony or designation of a parenting plan)
Is Self-Representation Allowed in Divorce Appeals?
Self-representation, or proceeding pro se, is legal in Tennessee. There are no laws that require anyone to hire a lawyer to represent them for any reason. However, while it is legal and allowed to proceed as a pro se litigant, it is not recommended. Particularly in divorce appeals, an individual representing themselves can face several challenges that could result in their appeal being denied or dismissed.
Challenge: Lack of Complex Legal Knowledge
One of the biggest challenges of self-representation is the individual’s lack of complex legal knowledge. Attorneys spend years learning how to read and interpret statutory and case law, and they work with those laws every day, increasing their familiarity with them. Attorneys also know when those laws change and how to find the most current laws using legal databases and other resources that may not be available to the average individual.
Specific procedures and legal complexities can be challenging to navigate without legal training. Understanding and complying with the Rules of Appellate Procedure and other rules of the court system are crucial, and errors can lead to an appeal being dismissed. Procedural errors, including missed deadlines or incorrect or incomplete paperwork, can also cause the appeal to be denied or dismissed. Failing to present the individual’s argument properly can result in them losing their case and potentially being responsible for hundreds or thousands of dollars in court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Challenge: Unfamiliar With Court Conduct and Rules of Evidence
Another concern with self-representation in divorce appeals is that the average person is unfamiliar with courtroom procedures and rules of evidence. This can lead to several problems. Not knowing how to effectively present their case can result in presenting a weak argument that ends in the appeal being denied. They may struggle to articulate legal arguments clearly and persuasively, or feel unprepared to answer a judge’s questions due to their lack of legal training. Knowing how to interpret the laws and apply them to the individual’s specific case can be difficult, and court staff cannot provide legal advice, which may leave the individual confused and overwhelmed.
The rules of evidence are complex. The simplest of errors can mean that important information is excluded. In some instances, that excluded information may be the evidence that would have changed the outcome. Understanding the rules of evidence is crucial to knowing what can be used as evidence and how to have it admitted as evidence, but most non-lawyers are not familiar with these rules and do not have the time to learn them when preparing to file their divorce appeal.
Challenge: Limited Ability to Change Outcomes
Divorce appeals are not do-overs for the original trial. Often, one or both parties to a divorce walk away unhappy with some part of the final decree. Pro se litigants may mistakenly believe that they can file an appeal and re-argue the case, including introducing new evidence, but that is not how an appeal works. They may not be able to introduce new evidence or arguments, even if mistakes were made during the trial.
Appeals focus on legal errors, mistakes in applying the law, and factual errors. New evidence will only be allowed to be introduced if it is newly discovered and could not have been discovered with reasonable diligence, if one party engaged in fraud or misrepresentation during the trial that was not apparent at that time, or if there is a witness who was unable to testify during the original trial. Pro se litigants may find that it is harder to prove these circumstances to get new evidence introduced. If you plan to file a divorce appeal and want to introduce new evidence, an experienced divorce attorney with King Law Offices may be able to review the trial record, examine the new evidence, and discuss your legal options.
Challenge: At a Disadvantage Against Legal Representation
Another significant challenge that many pro se litigants face in representing themselves is that they are arguing their case against the other party’s attorney. If the other party has an attorney, this gives them a significant advantage just in the resources that the attorney has. Lawyers have extensive legal knowledge and training, access to a variety of legal databases, contacts with expert witnesses, and other resources that the average individual does not have.
Attorneys are also trained to aggressively advocate for their clients. While this can lead to heated debates and arguments in court when both parties have skilled lawyers, when one party opts to represent themselves, it can lead to the pro se litigant feeling intimidated or overwhelmed, which may cause them to doubt themselves and their case and end up presenting a case that appears weaker than it truly is. All of this may make a person’s decision to represent themselves a much more expensive option if they get an unfavorable outcome.
Challenge: Emotions and Blurred Judgment
Divorce is emotionally charged, and even if the divorce took a long time and the individual believes they are no longer strongly tied emotionally to the marriage or divorce, there are likely to still be enough emotions to cause problems in representing themselves. Individuals may not be able to remain objective and focus on legal arguments. However, their case is not helped by getting overly emotional or engaging in disruptive behavior, such as shouting, crying, verbal personal attacks on the other party, or showing disrespect toward the court. In fact, these things can often hinder their argument and cause them to lose their appeal.
Additionally, blurred judgment could cause the individual to undermine their own case. They may make impulsive or emotional decisions that are not in the best interest of their case, or focus on proving fault or getting revenge instead of focusing on the legal merits of the appeal. They may be so stressed and upset that it impairs their memory and makes it difficult for them to remember things accurately or provide clear and consistent testimony, both of which could hurt their credibility. They may have cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, that cause them to present an incomplete or skewed view of the case’s facts. These all undermine their case and could cause them to lose the appeal.
From Initial Trial to Divorce Appeals: Why Self-Representation Is Not a Good Idea
After spending so much on the initial divorce process, some people consider self-representation to save money when filing divorce appeals. Others may consider representing themselves from the beginning of the divorce process, whether to save money or for other reasons. Whether it is a decision made at the beginning of the divorce process or at some point during the process, the decision to represent oneself is likely to be regrettable.
During the initial divorce trial, the individual or their attorney must object to appealable errors on the record to file a divorce appeal later. If the individual opts to represent themselves and does not recognize an opportunity for objection during the trial, they will lose their ability to appeal. Additionally, the appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the trial court’s judgment. The appeal paperwork, called the appellate brief, must be properly formatted and accurately completed. A single error may be enough to jeopardize the case.
How A Tennessee Divorce Attorney Can Assist You
You may think representing yourself can save money, create a more passionate and persuasive argument in your favor, or have other benefits. However, it can cost you more money and change the focus of your appeal from the legal merits to emotion-driven reasoning, which can cost you the outcome you are hoping for. An experienced Tennessee divorce attorney at King Law Offices has the legal knowledge, resources, and skills to handle divorce and divorce appeals. Call (888) 748-5464 to schedule an appointment in our Johnson City office and learn more about how working with an attorney may offer more benefits than self-representation.
