Burgard

Judith Burgard appeals from a sanctions order entered by the family law court on August 12, 1997, and from an order denying her motion for reconsideration and assessing additional sanctions entered on *77 October 31, 1997. 1 As we shall explain, the only reviewable order is that portion of the October 31, 1997, order assessing additional sanctions. Judith’s appeal from the August 12, 1997, sanction order is untimely, and her motion for reconsideration is not independently appealable in the absence of new or different facts. Regarding the second sanctions order, we conclude the court did not abuse its discretion. Accordingly, we shall affirm the order.

Facts

Judith Burgard married the late J. Keith Burgard in 1971 and separated from him in 1981. Judith petitioned for dissolution of marriage, and the parties’ marital status was terminated in 1990. Keith remarried shortly thereafter. By 1992, he became seriously ill. He died in 1994.

Before Keith’s death, the parties had never had their community property interests formally adjudicated by the court. They did enter into qualified domestic relations orders (QDRO’s), however, regarding two of Keith’s retirement plans.

The…