Ron Perlman is a 69-year-old television, movie and voice actor. He is most well known for his decades of acting work including in the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990), Sons of Anarchy (2008-2013), and the movies Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).
On Valentine’s Day 1981, Perlman married jewelry designer Opal Stone Perlman. During their marriage, although Stone Perlman continued to design jewelry, she was mainly a wife and mother to their two children, Blake Amanda born in 1984 and Brandon Avery born in 1987.
After 38 years of marriage, the couple separated in May of 2019, and Perlman soon filed for dissolution of marriage (California’s term for divorce). The children were adults, so there were no issues regarding child support, custody and visitation. However, the former couple had a myriad of issues regarding community property (all property acquired during their marriage) and spousal support. In California, their marriage is considered to be one of long-term (a marriage of over ten years), and a spouse may be able to increase their chances for long term spousal support because of their long-term marriage.
In early 2021, the Los Angeles County superior court judge handling the Perlmans’ dissolution, granted Ron Perlman’s request to bifurcate the divorce.
Under California’s Family Code Section 2337, “…in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the court, upon noticed motion [letting the other party know of the request], may sever and grant an early and separate trial on an issue of the dissolution of the status of the marriage apart from other issues…” This means, upon request of a party, the court can sever the marriage – making both parties single people – while all other issues regarding the divorce will continue to be adjudicated.
Although the individuals requesting bifurcation have their own reasons why, here are three popular ones:
- Allowing the individuals to file their income taxes as “single” or “head of household”;
- Allowing the individuals to have their single status returned while continuing to resolve the other issues;
- Allowing the individuals to remarry because they are now single.
According to TMZ, Perlman requested the bifurcation because he wishes to remarry.
Bifurcation, along with most divorce issues can be very technical, and knowledgeable legal personnel should be contacted for assistance in handling this issue.