Reopening a divorce that is already final
A divorce judgment is meant to be the end. Courts reopen one rarely, reluctantly, and only on specific grounds — and “the deal turned out to be bad for me” is not one of them. What can reopen a case is misconduct: fraud, perjury, concealment, duress, or a judgment that was never valid.
Under the federal rule, a motion on the three grounds people most often need — mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud — must be brought within one year of the judgment, and every other ground within a “reasonable time”. State rules use their own periods. If you think you were defrauded, the date you discovered it is the date to write down.
The short version4 points · tap one to jump to it
- The six grounds — Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) is the template that most state rules were written from, so it is the clearest way to see the shape of the thing.
- What your state calls it — These are the ones we have checked; the other forty-five have an equivalent and we have not yet read it.
- The divorce version: the asset that was never disclosed — The most common real-world reason to reopen a divorce is that something was hidden.
- What will not work
In this subject 5
The six grounds
The short version4 points · tap one to jump to it
- The six grounds — Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) is the template that most state rules were written from, so it is the clearest way to see the shape of the thing.
- What your state calls it — These are the ones we have checked; the other forty-five have an equivalent and we have not yet read it.
- The divorce version: the asset that was never disclosed — The most common real-world reason to reopen a divorce is that something was hidden.
- What will not work
In this subject 5
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) is the template that most state rules were written from, so it is the clearest way to see the shape of the thing. A court may relieve a party from a final judgment for:
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
- Newly discovered evidence that could not have been found in time to ask for a new trial.
- Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the opposing party. This is the one that matters in divorce, and it is where the hidden account lives.
- The judgment is void — for example, the court never had jurisdiction, or you were never properly served.
- The judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged, or the judgment it was based on has been reversed.
- Any other reason that justifies relief. Real, and narrow: it is not a way to get round the one-year limit on the first three.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) and the one-year limit at 60(c)(1).
What your state calls it
Five states we read the rule for, plus the divorce-specific California statute. These are the ones we have checked; the other forty-five have an equivalent and we have not yet read it.
| State | The rule | The part that matters |
|---|---|---|
| California | Fam. Code § 2122 | The divorce-specific set-aside statute, with its own grounds and its own clocks: actual fraud, one year from discovery; perjury in the disclosure documents, one year from discovery; duress, two years from entry of judgment; mental incapacity, two years. Note that these run from discovery, not from the judgment. |
| New York | CPLR 5015(a) | Five grounds, including excusable default — on which the motion must come within one year of service of the judgment with notice of entry. |
| Illinois | 735 ILCS 5/2-1401 | Relief from a final order more than 30 days on, by petition; most grounds must be filed not later than two years after entry. |
| Massachusetts | Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. 60(b) | Tracks the federal rule almost word for word, in the rules written specifically for domestic relations cases. |
| Washington | CR 60(b) | Eleven enumerated grounds rather than six — a wider door than the federal rule, including irregularity in the proceedings. |
Texas and Florida both have an equivalent — Rule of Civil Procedure 329b and Family Law Rule 12.540 respectively — but their rule servers refused to let us read the text today, so we are not going to describe what it says.
The divorce version: the asset that was never disclosed
The most common real-world reason to reopen a divorce is that something was hidden. A pension nobody mentioned. A bonus that arrived a month after the disclosure was signed. A business whose value the other side knew and you did not.
This is why several states put the disclosure obligation in the statute and attach a set-aside remedy to breaking it. California’s is the clearest: perjury in a disclosure declaration is its own listed ground, and the year runs from when the perjury was or should have been discovered rather than from the divorce. A judgment that looks unappealably old can still be reachable if the thing you found is new.
What that requires, in practice: proof, and a date. Proof that the asset existed and was not disclosed, and the date you found out. When you think assets are being hidden covers how people actually find these.
What will not work
- Regret. A settlement you now think was too generous is a settlement.
- A lawyer you have come to dislike. Bad representation is a complaint to the bar and sometimes a malpractice claim. It is very rarely a reason to undo a judgment against the other spouse, who did nothing wrong.
- Something you could have found at the time. Newly discovered means it could not have been discovered with reasonable diligence, not that you did not look.
- A change in circumstances. Losing a job, a raise, a remarriage, a child moving — these are grounds to modify support or custody going forward, which is an entirely different motion with an entirely different standard. Changing the support number and changing custody.
Keep reading
- When you think assets are being hidden
- Changing the support number — the right motion when it is a change, not a fraud
- Changing custody
- Appealing a divorce judgment — the other route, with a much shorter clock
- When the order stops working