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Re: Bifurcation in matters of divorce.
Anonymous5 views3 answers
The Judge did not bifurcate the matter prima facie, but rather ruled on the pleadings and issued a decree granting a divorce "a vinculo". Said pleadings concealed (both through misrepresentation and suppression) the collateral and subsidiary issues to the matter of the dissolution, e.g. the marital real property and marital debt, which at the time were unresolved contestable issues pursuant to GA Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.7. In thus doing, the Court seems to have caused a de-facto bifurcation of the matter. My basic question remains the same. As Atty. Rafter noted, some states prohibit bifurcation in divorces while others allow it. What is the stance in GA regarding bifurcation in re divorce? Is it permitted, if so to what degree, and does this require both parties' consent?
What you are talking about has nothing to do with bifurcation, a term I believe you are misusing in this context. As Ms. Alexis Hamilton responded to a previous posting by you, you really need to hire an attorney to represent you.
True bifurcation is where one or more issues are dealt with at one stage of a trial and then there is another stage of the trial (e.g., guilt and penalty phases of a criminal trial, liability phase of a civil personal injury trial and then possibly a phase dealing with punitive damages and/or attorney fees). In GA, there is no such thing as a bifurcated trial for a domestic case (e.g., divorce, child custody, legitimation, etc.), unless the substantive issues are dealt with and then the court hears evidence concerning attorney fees, etc., for the winning side. If the issues are properly brought before the court, no consent of the other party is required.
What you are talking about concerns the judge allegedly not being fully informed as to all the issues that should have been fully litigated before the judge. If you believe the other party committed fraud upon the court, you have a limited amount of time within which to (1) appeal the divorce (30 days from the date the order is issued to file a notice of appeal), and/or (2) file a motion for new trial (w/in the term of court when the order was issued).
A judge has a lot of "room" to do whatever s/he thinks is best in a divorce case. If you think something was mishandled in your divorce, or if you think the other party purposefully concealed something, call an attorney ASAP. If the judge already granted the divorce, the clock is running on filing an appeal or submitting a timely motion for new trial. After a certain amount of time, you won't be able to fix any mistakes in your divorce. What you are characterizing as a "bifurcation" doesn't sound like a bifurcation at all. It sounds like the Judge ruled on the divorce but may not have known about other assets or debts that your spouse and/or you had. If that's the case, you really, really need to speak with an attorney.
Under Georgia law, a claim for equitable division of property terminates at the dissolution of the marriage. In other words, you cannot get divorced and afterwards file an action to divide marital property or debts. Once the divorce is granted, the court is divested of jurisdiction to hear the claim even if the parties agree or consent to the claim being heard.
