Why You Should Consider Divorce Bifurcation

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child custody tips for during and after divorce

Child custody is one of the most difficult elements of a divorce. Who gets custody of the kids? What do you do about visitation and holidays? How can you get through this aspect of the divorce without everyone coming unwound? This blog contains information and tips about child custody arrangements during and after a divorce and advice about what your attorney can do for you. It is my hope that my personal experience of going through a divorce and having custody arrangements made and altered a few different times will help you get through the process a little easier than I did.

Why You Should Consider Divorce Bifurcation

19 October 2017
 Categories: , Blog


Divorce bifurcation is a legal process that allows you to divide the legal process of your divorce into two main parts. The first part is to declare you legally divorced while the second part deals with the remaining issues of the divorce such as asset division. Bifurcation is particularly helpful for those who think their divorce can take a long time. Here are some of the numerous benefits of divorce bifurcation:

It Allows You to Remarry Before All the Divorce Details Are Ironed Out

Ordinarily, you are only allowed to remarry once all your divorce issues are sorted out and your divorce is declared final. This means your divorce issues can hold you hostage, as far as remarriage is concerned, for a long time. Fortunately, bifurcation technically ends your marriage and allows (legally speaking) to remarry. Therefore, even if the rest of the issues take years to resolve, you don't have to wait that long to remarry.

You Can File Individual Tax Returns

Bifurcating your divorce may also give you some tax advantages. For example, alimony is tax deductible, but only if you are legally divorced. Therefore, if you are paying spousal support but you are only separated and not legally divorced, you won't be able to claim the deduction on your tax return. This may cost you some money if your divorce delays for a couple of years or more. Bifurcation makes your spousal maintenance tax deductible.

You Get to Work on the Rest Details at a Reasonable Pace

If you want to end your divorce as soon as possible, you may be tempted to rush through the contentious issues and make concessions that you wouldn't have made otherwise. For example, you may give up your marital home easily (even if you have always wanted to keep the home) if you think that is what would hasten the divorce. A bifurcation offers you a legal way of ending the marriage so that you can negotiate the rest of the issues without any pressure.

It Allows You to Move On Emotionally

If your marriage is going to end irrespective of your actions, then you don't need to prolong it. However, it may be difficult to move on from your failed marriage if it hasn't legally ended. Some people always hold on to their marriages with the hope that the divorce can collapse and they can continue with their lives as before, but this isn't healthy. A bifurcation ends this unhealthy attachment to the marriage and allows you to move on.

Contact a firm, like The VK Law Firm, for more help.