Sometimes in divorce trials, divorce and property settlement are separated. Bifurcation can be used to accelerate the end of a bad marriage, and it prevents one spouse from using time as a weapon against the other; by the same token, it results in two trials, and it can take away the incentive to settle economic issues. Moreover, bifurcation is always more expensive than a single trial.

After the breakdown of a marriage, a separation, and long and painful (and expensive) settlement negotiations, most divorcing couples "just want it over." Yet as portrayed in the darkly comic movie War of the Roses, not all divorcing spouses can agree on settling all the issues of their divorce. In bitterly disputed or complicated divorce cases, the sound and fury are often division of the property and debt, and the parties involved may decide to actually have the court grant a divorce, thus terminating the marital relationship, but do so without making decision on one or several of the issues that need to be resolved. Bifurcation sometimes happens for tax reasons or when economic issues require complicated discovery and a longer trial.

Bifurcation of a divorce case is not permitted in all states or simply by request. Some jurisdictions preclude bifurcated divorce trials as a matter of law; others permit, but do not necessarily encourage, bifurcated actions. Generally, however, the separation of divorce and settlement happens when the spouses are close to settling or have the desire to settle, have a complicated financial to decipher, or other extraordinary circumstances.

California, which pioneered the liberalization of divorce in the 1970s, takes very generous view of bifurcation.

Your Suggestion

1. Entering into a Bifurcated Divorce
   In order to enter a divorce decree or judgment before resolving the financial aspects of a marriage requires a bifurcation of the two issues. For this to take place, one party must provide a compelling reason to the court for the bifurcation. In order to assure that one’s interests are being adequately protected one should always have proper legal representation in this type of situation. There may be certain repercussions that are often unforeseeable in a bifurcated divorce, which are more visible to the seasoned family law professional.
   Contributed on 5/17/2007 by: DivorceDex.com Staff

   Category: Divorce Procedure  (Applicable in All States)
2. Pros and Cons of Bifurcation and Divorce
   The granting a bifurcated divorce while reserving economic issues for later proceedings has several pros: It can quickly put an end to a bad marriage and allow the spouses to move on emotionally and start over, and it prevents one spouse from holding the other’s personal life hostage to economic demands. On the down side, bifurcation can result in two trials rather than one (much more expense with court and legal fees), and it can slow down the resolution of economic issues by removing an important incentive for reaching a settlement to get a divorce.
   Contributed on 5/17/2007 by: DivorceDex.com Staff

   Category: Property Division  (Applicable in All States)

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