In mid-December, Kim Kardashian filed papers with the court requesting a bifurcated divorce. A bifurcated divorce means that Kim wanted to be legally declared single/divorced, with the understanding that the financial and custodial aspects of the divorce were still left to be negotiated. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a bifurcated divorce – they are legally single, but the financial and custodial parts of the divorce are still being worked on. For more than two months, Kanye didn’t respond to Kim’s filing. Now he has, and he’s clearly not looking to speed up any part of their divorce. Probably because he’s still expecting Kim to “run back” to him.

Kanye West is fighting Kim Kardashian’s request to be declared legally single. The 44-year-old rapper filed a response to his ex’s December petition in the Superior Court of California Wednesday in Los Angeles County, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

West’s lawyers claim in the response that granting single status before issues like custody of their four children (North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 2½) and shared properties are settled in their ongoing divorce could result in “a risk of adverse consequences.” The filing adds, “An early termination of status also creates barriers to obtaining evidence” if one of them “remarries before the case is concluded.”

The response lays out several “conditions” the Donda rapper wants to be met, including for Kardashian to forfeit her marital privilege with West — and her new spouse, should she remarry — until their custody dispute is resolved. Along with not having to testify against a spouse or serve as a witness, marital privilege also allows spouses to conceal conversations between them. “If status is terminated now without his condition, then a barrier to obtaining evidence regarding parenting and custody will arise if Kim remarries before the case is concluded,” the docs state.

In his conditions, West wants his “right of reimbursement” to be carried out “if either party dies” and for Kardashian to agree not to move assets from their trust before the terms of their property are decided, per the court docs, which state that Kardashian “rejected” West’s requests Tuesday. West’s lawyers said in the filing that “Kim’s motion should be denied without prejudice so that Kim can refile it with the mandatory corrections and requested conditions.”

For now, a hearing on Kardashian’s petition, where she also asked a judge to restore her maiden name, is set for early March.

[From People]

Those are… actually kind of interesting arguments? I wonder if Ye just told his lawyer “I don’t want the divorce, stall, say some legal sh-t” and this was what the lawyer came up with. It feels like Kanye’s concern about marital privilege is kind of odd, given that Kanye is sort of legal teflon at the moment? He was openly committing multiple acts of campaign fraud in 2020 and nothing ever came of it, and no investigations were launched. Putting up this kind of fuss about marital privilege makes me wonder if he’s worried about Kim talking about all of the crimes he committed while they were married? How bizarre. As for the money stuff… I truly have no idea. As I said, it has the feel of a legal stalling tactic. Oh, and I bet Kanye is very worried that Kim will end up marrying Pete Davidson! Ye shouldn’t worry. Kim won’t.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.