An Overview Of Divorce Bifurcation
In a typical divorce process, couples remain married until the whole process is completed and the judge issues the divorce decree. This means you may stay married for as long as two years or more to someone you don't want to be married to. This is what divorce bifurcation seeks to avoid.
What It Means
In divorce bifurcation, the court declares you legally divorced before you have settled the salient divorce issues. Bifurcation basically turns your divorce into a two-stage process. The first process is the declaration of divorce and the second stage is the resolution of divorce issues such as child support, alimony, and asset division, among other things.
Benefits
Divorce bifurcation grants you several benefits, but the following are some of the most common reasons people opt for the process.
Remarriage
As previously mentioned, a contested divorce can take several years; the more complicated a divorce is, the longer it might take to resolve. This may be unfair to you if you want to remarry, because you must be legally divorced to marry. Bifurcation renders you legally divorced and makes you free to remarry even while you still handling other aspects of your divorce.
Divorce Efficiency
Another benefit of divorce bifurcation is that it separates the actual separation from the other divorce issues so that you can focus on these issues without pressure. Without divorce bifurcation, you might be tempted to rush through your divorce issues if you want to conclude the marriage as fast as possible. You might even end up with a raw deal in the divorce decree. With bifurcation, you can tackle each issue with a clear head because you are not in much of a hurry.
Faster Divorce
Lastly, divorce bifurcation can also help you hasten your divorce. This is possible if your partner was purposefully delaying the divorce because they didn't want you to be single, for example, if they didn't want you to remarry. Your partner might stop their delaying tactics once you are legally divorced because they won't be having anything to hold over you anymore.
Notable Factors
Here are a few things you should know about divorce bifurcation.
Both Spouses Must Agree
In many states, both spouses must agree to the bifurcation process for the court to grant it. However, you may be able to get divorce bifurcation without your partner's consent if you can prove that they are unnecessarily refusing the process and that it won't hurt their interests.
Only Applicable in Some States
Another thing to note is that only a few states allow divorce bifurcation. Also, there are some variations on bifurcation laws across different states.
Waiting Period Might Apply
Lastly, some states have a waiting period before divorce bifurcation, just like there are waiting periods for a conventional divorce. However, the waiting periods for divorce bifurcation are usually shorter than those for a conventional divorce.
For more information, work with a divorce attorney from a firm like Bray & Johnson Law Firm.