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Nisi period

Submitted by 6591 on Sat, 07/14/2012 - 13:22

during the NISI period after a mediated separation agreement is approved, can my wife change the terms of the agreement for any reason - specifically, if she has a problem with me dating can she stop the issuance of the final divorce or terms of agreement

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Judgment Nisi is not easily modified in MA divorce case

Submitted by Retired Attorney on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 07:43.

A judgment nisi is an intermediate judgment that will become final and absolute after 90 days unless the parties make a request that the Court dismiss the action. The purpose of this “waiting period” is to give the divorcing parties one last chance to reconcile.

See 208 M.G.L. 21. http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208...

The judgment nisi is a judgment of the Court, and as such is a complete resolution of the divorce case. A party can file an appeal of the judgment nisi during the waiting period. This is not an opportunity for a “I changed my mind” appeal, but rather has to be an appeal based on some legal error or other appealable issue. The Court may let the parties modify the judgment nisi by mutual agreement, just like the Court would let the parties modify a final divorce judgment, and the Court will let the parties dismiss the divorce case by mutual agreement, but the Court will not reopen the case to additional evidence or continued settlement negotiation.

Divorce nisi appeal

Submitted by The Editor on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 08:04.

I agree with the prior post regarding amending the judgment nisi.  You can read this post for information about the timeline between the nisi and the final judgment for divorce.

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