Splitting Your Dissolution Case into Parts
In some states, the court will allow a divorce case to be bifurcated or split into two parts. Generally, if a case is bifurcated, the first issue resolved is marital status. The court grants the couple a divorce – making them each legally single again – but reserves all remaining issues for trial at a later date. The remaining issues could include matters such as property distribution,child custody, child support, alimony or business valuation.
The reasons for bifurcation are many and vary from case to case. The most common reasons for bifurcation are spouses who wish to remarry, tax implications of filing income tax returns as a single person, complex financial matters which will take a substantial amount of time (months or even years) to review and analyze before any property settlement can be considered and the psychological impact of legally ending the marriage.
In especially bitter divorces, a bifurcation can prevent one spouse from trying to wield power over the other spouse’s personal life by delaying the ultimate resolution of the case. Some believe that a bifurcation in that instance takes a bit of wind out of the sails of the stalling party. The case may not be over but the parties are divorced and free to live their lives as single people. The breaking of that legal tie can also help spouses begin to move on emotionally from a troubled marriage- even if they are still hammering out details of a settlement or arguing over other issues. On the flip side, the actual divorce can be an excellent incentive to reach a settlement. In a bifurcated case, that incentive is taken away.
A couple can even settle some portions of their divorce case and just go to trial on the remaining unresolved issues. For example, if the couple agrees on a custody and visitation arrangement and a property distribution settlement but cannot agree on a child support and alimony plan, they could request bifurcation – asking the court to grant them a divorce (changing their marital status to single) and to approve their partial settlement while seeking a trial on the support issues.
Some states, like New York, Texas, Arizona and Michigan, do not generally allow bifurcation. Most other states disfavor bifurcation but may allow it in unusual situations or if certain considerations are made. A few states like California and Kansas routinely allow divorce cases to be bifurcated for almost any reason. To determine if bifurcation is available to you check the divorce laws in your own home state.
5 Comments
can you bifurcate in washington state?
I have few question around this bifurcation and would really appreciate any good feedback on the same . Applicable state jurisdiction is California
1. If the the cout has given the single status decree ? are the two individuals allowed to re marry even though the property bifurcation process is still on ?
2. in a bifyrcation case where one spouse in not contesting on any of the financials matters and has given away all the rights in the community property , but the other party is still not ready to attend court and clear the pending trial as formality , does the court pass ec partie decree?
3. how many times the un cooperative spouse be given chance to postpone the hearing date ?
4. is there any time limit set to complete the birfucation proceedings?
5. as the wife does not want any thing from her separated husband , and she leaves the country for good and resettles what will be the legal implications as she does not have anything to lose or demand ?
6. what is the best way to get things legally done if the husband is not cooperating and just delaying the trials/
7. is there any right to appeal in this case ? where the wife really does not want any share and she does not have anything to give …?
My ex spouse filed for bifurcation, which I opposed since I wanted division of assets to be completed first. He has since passed away and we never finalized the division of assets. We both had life insurance policies in irrevocable trusts with pour-over wills. I was the the primary beneficiary for his insurance and he was/still is for mine. Does his death and our bifurcation status change the beneficiary status in any way? It doesn’t seem as though it should since the auto. restraining orders prohibited us from changing beneficiaries, which was fine with us.
A guy who wanted to date me said he was divorced but when I asked when the divorce was final he told me it was bifurcated 4 1/2 years ago for intellectual property and other things. No children are involved. I told him I would not be witness/party to this and terminated the correspondence. This seems like a really long time to be bifurcated. He says it will all be over in 3-4 months. I think the guy is married. What is your thought on this?
I am dating a man whose wife is delaying their divorce every chance she gets. They separated over 6 years ago. They have been “divorcing” for the last 2.5 years without much progress. She won’t get documents together, she won’t say what she wants, she reschedules meetings, etc. I may ask my honey to do a bifurcated divorce so at least she is no longer his wife. My question is, if my boyfriend seeks a bifurcated divorce, can he and his wife continue in mediation as they have been doing to resolve outstanding issues (they are using a mediator), or do they have to go with attorneys and settle it in court? Can they bifurcate the divorce and continue to use their mediator to come to an agreement about finances and custody, and then use their attorneys only to file the papers? We live in CA.