In divorce cases, some states allow branching, which makes it possible to close a divorce case, where certain aspects, such as property, can be dealt with after dissolution. Some states allow branching, others do not, and some state laws do not address the issue. 2) Your divorce file has been open for some time and there does not seem to be a solution to the issues of custody, child visitation, alimony and/or division of property in your case. Applying for a branch of marital status doesn`t eliminate these problems, but it does allow you to return to your status as an individual. Disadvantages of bifurcation 1) No litigant (and no judge) wants to hear a case twice. If a jury decides the defendant`s liability in any proportion, the claim will of course follow, and usually a second jury must be chosen to hear the claim. (5) Without the question of damages being heard in the first case, the parties to the proceedings and the court are spared the numerous pre-litigation claims relating to attending physicians, medical records, expert opinions, fees for declaration costs and other matters that always arise from the preparation of the question of damage. The membership process is greatly simplified. 2) In mediation, in many cases of negligence, especially in cases of slippages and falls, the defendant does not make any offer of settlement, because the main problem is negligence.
If a jury decides that the defendant acted negligently in any way, the settlement will be facilitated. Yes. For federal income tax purposes, as long as your marital status ends before midnight on the last day of the taxation year (usually December 31), you can file your income tax return as an individual for the entire taxation year. However, if you can get a branch of your marital status during the six-month waiting period and the six-month waiting period ends in the next taxation year, you will not be able to file your tax return as an individual. Marital status does not legally change until the expiry of the six-month waiting period. As a result, your marital status ends in the new tax year. You can file your tax returns as an individual in the year in which the marital status officially ends. Asking for bifurcation and ending your marital status have little impact on most of the issues in your divorce. Ending your marital status doesn`t mean your entire divorce case is over. Custody, visitation, child support, spousal support and most property division issues will continue as if the branch had never taken place. You can continue to exercise your rights with respect to these other matters in your case.
There are several reasons why you may want to apply for a branch of marital status. These reasons are accompanied by several advantages, for one or both spouses. You should evaluate the benefits and consequences before applying for a branch. If any of the following reasons apply to you, you should consider applying for a branch of marital status: Multiple Defendants There are many cases with multiple defendants. In cases of professional misconduct, hospitals and doctors are often cited as defendants. Often, the case is not settled because each of the defendants believes that the primary responsibility lies with the other defendant or defendants. A two-part case will allow the jury to divide the responsibility between the different defendants. In these cases, some of the defendants may be released with a finding of disclaimer, and other defendants may be assessed as total or partial liability. Certainly, in these cases, the question of causation must be decided by the jury, and the ramification cannot save much time. In such cases, physicians who could have testified in case of responsibility and causality must return to testify in case of damage. Nevertheless, an analysis of each case and an open conversation with all the lawyers involved can help.
In such cases, the court must be open-minded and listen to all parties. Even if your bifurcation application is granted, you and the other party to the divorce must still comply with the following laws: The first time a case usually appears is in the movement calendar for pre-court filing issues. If the pre-litigation application concerns the case to medical records, medical reports, the appointment of experts in medical or related fields, you can determine what type of case it is. In many cases, medical problems and damage problems appear in the timing of movements and can be eliminated by branching the case if the other points of the analysis are positive. For example, if a request for difficulties is made during the examination of the plaintiff by the defense lawyer`s doctor and you find that the case is a case of slipping and falling, this would be the ideal time to determine if an ramification of the case is indicated. In many slips and falls, not only are medical problems and damage problems placed on the “long bench”, but time is also saved when it comes to damage problems and expert problems. The money saved can be better used for billing purposes. 2) If the claims are withdrawn from the case, the plaintiffs cannot express a benevolent view of the client`s case. The court should inform the jury that the applicant has suffered injuries and, in some cases, it would be appropriate for the court to determine that the applicant has serious or significant injuries. For the record, a lawyer approached me after a slippage case led to a defense verdict and thanked me for splitting the case. He said he accepted the case because it was a parent. By branching off, he saved thousands of dollars in expert fees that he would never have recovered from his client.
Had he convinced the jury to assign any liability to the defendant, the case would certainly have been settled before a damages trial. Mediation of a bifurcated case When a case has been divided, I give lawyers a list of procedures that includes the requirement that the plaintiff defend all medical bills and medical reports so that mediation can be meaningful. I maintain the investigation procedures for damages by eliminating all doctors` statements and letting the lawyer proceed strictly based on medical reports and medical bills. This saves thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on each page for fees that can be better used for billing. The authority`s case law for the 1967 bifurcation in Watts v. Mantooth, 196 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 2d DCA), clarifies that the court of first instance has the discretion to split a case as long as the discretion is not abused. In the Mantooth case, the court stated, “Incidentally, we note that on many occasions a new trial is awarded, only on the issue of damages, in which, of course, a separate jury determines the amount of damages to be awarded.” The Mantooth case was closed in 1980 by the Third DCA in Hernandez v.
Leiva, 391 So. 2d 292, in which the court stated that it was at the discretion of the court of first instance to divide and continue, on its own initiative, the proceedings relating to damages and lawyers` fees. In other cases with multiple defendants, when issues of division and comparative negligence are determined by a jury, our experience is that the damages issues are always settled accordingly. The costs associated with a trial can add up very quickly and are not always justified. Every client believes they have a winning hand at the beginning of a legal dispute. However, once a client has taken action and endured the discovery of paper, statements and the practice of the movement – a process that can take years – they may have doubts about the strength of their case.
