If you are getting divorced in Minnesota, you will probably hear about something called “Early Neutral Evaluation.” Many people do not understand what this is. Early Neutral Evaluation is abbreviated as “ENE.” There are two kinds. Social Early Neutral Evaluation (SENE) and Financial Early Neutral Evaluation (FENE).
In Minnesota divorce cases, ENE is like mediation, except the evaluator gives an opinion about how the case is likely to be decided by judicial officer, if the case goes to trial. This opinion (its supposed to be neutral) is something that parties are expected to rely upon.
Except – sometimes you can’t rely on the opinion of an evaluator. This is why you need an attorney, even in mediation or Early Neutral Evaluation. Remember: the Evaluator does not represent you.
I have been in Early Neutral Evaluations where the evaluators use what I call a “cookie cutter” approach. They decide the case from 30,000 feet in the air. In a Social Early Neutral Evaluation, the evaluators are not necessarily look for the best interests of the child. Rather, they determine whether one parent or the other has huge negatives, and if not they default to an equal parenting time recommendation.
Sometimes this is appropriate, and sometimes it is not.
Materials
Early Neutral Evaluation and Divorce
If you are going to participate in a Social Early Neutral Evaluation or a Financial Early Neutral Evaluation, keep in mind (again) that the Evaluator does not represent you. They are not looking out for your interests. Rather, they are trying to get the case settled. They are not invested in the outcome. They do not care whether the settlement is a good settlement or a bad settlement. That is not their job.
If you have questions, call me, Dan Fiskum, at (952) 270-7700 to set up a free initial consultation.
One only need two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.
unknown; attributed to G. Weilacher
