Have you made the decision to get a divorce, and you would like to attempt mediation prior to hiring an attorney? Have you started a divorce process and are told that you need to participate in mediation? Have you finalized your divorce and now issues have come up with custody, parenting time, spousal maintenance or any other issues, and you have a mediation clause in your Judgment and Decree that requires you to attempt mediation prior to returning to court? If you find yourself in any of these situations, contact our office to schedule mediation with Adam Blahnik. Adam is a state qualified mediator, a qualified early neutral evaluation (ENE) evaluator and is currently on the roster of mediators in Scott County.

The Mediation Process

Mediation in Minnesota divorce proceedings involves both spouses meeting with a neutral third party (who is frequently a divorce attorney) to discuss and attempt to resolve disputed divorce issues. Mediation can be accomplished at anytime during the divorce process, or even before the divorce proceedings are commenced.

Dispute Resolution Requirements

Mediation or some other form of alternative dispute resolution is required in all divorce proceedings in Minnesota (except in some cases where domestic abuse is involved). Further, it is common practice to insert a "mediation clause" in most final divorce agreements and decrees that, at a minimum, pertain to issues regarding children. This means that if either parent wants to modify any provisions of the final divorce agreement regarding custody or parenting time, that parent must first attempt mediation prior to bringing a post-decree motion in Court to modify such provisions in the final divorce decree. 

Early Neutral Evaluations (ENE)

An early neutral evaluation (ENE) is a confidential alternative dispute resolution technique designed for faster settlement of cases. There are two forms of ENEs based on whether the issues in dispute are property and financial matters or custody and parenting time issues. An ENE is usually ordered at the Initial Case Management Conference in a divorce proceeding. 

The purpose of the Financial Early Neutral Evaluation (FENE) process is to provide the individuals with early neutral feedback on one or more financial issues with the hope and anticipation that if the individuals have the neutral information, they will be better able to attain a settlement early in the process, before their money is expended through litigation.  When comparing the costs of pursuing lengthy adversarial evaluations and litigation over financial issues, with a quick analysis and assessment of possible settlement terms early in the case - most parties prefer the quick and low cost approach.  In taking this approach, it is possible to reach a settlement very early in the process and before either party has spent much in attorney's fees and costs.

The Social Early Neutral Evaluations (SENE) process is more formal than the FENE process. The goal of SENE is to obtain a joint evaluative opinion from two SENE evaluators on custody and parenting time. An SENE session is usually includes an opportunity for both parents to discuss their opinions about proposed custody and parenting time schedules and the many factors that contribute to the dynamics of their family. The evaluators will formulate specific feedback about the matter presented and share their recommendations with the parents, then the parents will have the opportunity to discuss and/or modify the recommendations made. If the parents reach a full or partial agreement, that agreement is usually reduced writing that is signed by the parents.