divorseetobe said:
What is the name of your state? NC
I will be seperated at the end of June and wanted to know can you divorce first and then settle equitable distribution after divorce or will divorce remain in suspension until all things are settled?
thanks
My response:
Yes. The procedure is called "Bifurcate" or "Bifurcation" (by-fur-cate), where one of the parties asks the court, through Motion, to "separate" certain parts of a divorce from other parts of the divorce. By doing this, the divorce, itself, can immediately be finalized.
A divorce case may be viewed as a collection of cases. That is, one issue in a divorce proceeding may be separated from the other issues ("bifurcated"), tried or settled separately, and rendered into a judgment which will be followed by one or more additional judgments. The issues typically include: (1) Jurisdiction, which is a particular court's power to issue orders regarding a particular person or a particular thing; (2) the nature of the proceeding, which could be a dissolution of marriage instead of an annulment or a legal separation; (3) the grounds for the proceeding, such as dissolution of marriage based on "irreconcilable differences" instead of "incurable insanity";
(4) the characterization and division of property; (5) the custody and parenting issues of the minor children of the marriage; (6) the rights or obligations between the parties concerning child support; (7) the rights or obligations between the parties concerning spousal support, sometimes called "alimony"; (8) the allocation between the parties of attorneys fees and costs and the basis for such an award from one party to the other.
IAAL
