Appeal

There is a 30-day appeal period between when your Divorce Order and your Certificate of Divorce are issued. This means that you or your spouse have 30-days to file an appeal with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal if you believe the judge made an error when making their decision. You do not file an appeal simply because you do not like the order the judge made, or because you have changed your mind and you no longer want to be divorced. Generally, you would not file an Appeal of a Divorce Order that was made by Application for divorce by agreement or a Joint application for divorce, because there was no trial and the parties agreed to everything.

Appeals are rare and are very difficult applications to make. If you believe you have grounds to apply for an appeal, you should speak with a lawyer.

In most cases, you cannot waive the 30-day appeal period. This appeal period can only be waived in very rare situations, such as when one of the spouses is terminally ill and is likely going to die before the divorce would normally be finalized.

A request to waive the appeal period requires that several additional documents be filed, including undertakings and affidavits by both parties promising that they do not want to file an appeal. It is up to the judge to determine if the appeal period is going to be waived when this is requested.

Typically, a desire to quickly remarry is not a good reason to request a waiver of the 30-day appeal period and will not likely be granted.

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