Vermont § 554 - Decrees nisi

§ 554. Decrees nisi

• (a) A decree of divorce from the bonds of matrimony in the first instance shall be a decree
  nisi and shall become absolute at the expiration of 90 days from the entry thereof
  but, in its discretion, the court that grants the divorce may fix an earlier date
  upon which the decree shall become absolute. If one of the parties dies prior to the
  expiration of the nisi period, the decree shall be deemed absolute immediately prior
  to death. (b) Either party may file any post-trial motions under the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure.
  The time within which any such motion shall be filed shall run from the date of entry
  of the decree of divorce and not from the date the nisi period expires. The court
  shall retain jurisdiction to hear and decide the motion after expiration of the nisi
  period. A decree of divorce shall constitute a civil judgment under the Vermont Rules
  of Civil Procedure. (c) If the stated term at which the decree nisi was entered has adjourned when a motion
  is filed, the presiding judge of the stated term shall have power to hear and determine
  the matter and make new decree therein as fully as the court might have done in term
  time; but, in the judge’s discretion, the judge may strike off the decree and continue
  the cause to the next stated term. (Amended 1969, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1989, No. 227 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 4, 1990; 1995, No. 94 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2018, No. 8 (Sp. Sess.), § 13, eff. June 28, 2018.)