Should You Appeal an Order Changing Custody to the Other Parent

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: California

I have had physical custody of my son since the start of our highly conflicted custody battle over our 7 year old son who is autistic. The judge just gave my ex physical custody after our 3rd Tier 3 mediation. He has made false accusations of sexual abuse, violated the prior custody order on numerous occasions...ex...refused to return our son at the end of his visitation, failed to select a child custody evaluator, harassed me more times than i can count, lied to and cussed at the judge...etc. We have dv in our past and he is very volatile.

I have brought these issues up in court and the judge totally disregards them and I am at my witts end. I dont have the money nor the legal expertise it takes to file an appeal but I feel that this is what needs to be done. My ex is so manipulative and the lies that come out of his mouth are appalling. I am so afraid that I have lost my son for good and I am lost as what to do next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Without reviewing the court records or evidence, it's difficult to do more than say that appeals are an uphill battle. The odds of success depend in no small part on the quality of the record for the issues on appeal -- notably including how well you stated and supported your case at trial, with admissible evidence. Many self-represented people think they're doing a great job in court, but upon review of the transcript it often turns out that they did not present legally viable arguments or properly present evidence in support of their own case.

If you had a lawyer at trial, you should discuss your appellate options with your lawyer. If you did not, to get a meaningful analysis of your chances on appeal, you need to have the case reviewed by a lawyer who handles family law appeals.

Having recently appealed a case, I can tell you what we learned. Depending on the situation, the likelihood of winning an appeal is roughly 15%. Average appeal costs $10k - $20k. The appeal is to argued based on the evidence already presented, and is argued based on the original judge somehow not ruling based on precedence. You cannot just appeal because you didn't like the decision. Last, it is uncommon for the court to allow additional evidence during an appeal.