Divorce cases are notorious for having the potential to require long periods of time to resolve.  All things considered; it is easy to understand why.  There are countless assets, responsibilities, and complications when a family goes through a divorce.  While it is possible to resolve these issues in a clean manner, it does take some time.  For this reason, the law allows what is called a Bifurcated Divorce.

A Bifurcated Divorce is a divorce where both parties agree on the decision to get divorced but may not concur on other issues such as division of property, parent time, or health insurance.  This enables each party to continue with their lives to a degree while waiting to settle their other disagreements with the court.

One of the most prevalent incentives for this type of divorce is when one party desires to remarry.  Expediting the divorce could enable them to remarry months before they would have been able should the divorce have gone through normally. Another reason would be to focus on the other issues of the marriage.  Bifurcating the divorce enable one to focus on the issues at hand, and not be distracted by the fact that there is still a divorce to be resolved.

Courts are hesitant however, to sign this decree very quickly.  Granting a divorce while leaving other issues to be dealt with down the road can have drastic consequences on a case.  It removes a lot of pressure to resolve the other details of the divorce.  This leads to a long, dragged out process to finish cleaning up the fine details of the case.  Dissolving a marriage prematurely also can lead to complications for health insurance and other marital expenses.  To ensure mutual benefit between the parties, additional paperwork must be filed in order to a judge to give a Bifurcated Divorce.

As with any interaction with the court, it is always highly recommended to counsel with an attorney before taking any legal action.  The attorney’s expertise and experience will be an invaluable resources to insure the court rules in your favor.