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Financial Matters In Divorce

Sometimes when facing divorce, once the parties figure out custody and parenting time issues, the remaining issues seem to take care of themselves.

However, some parties have a number of complex and difficult financial issues, like large debts, a variety of assets, or business ownership interests. Still others have accumulated unique assets like original artworks, antiques, or valuable collectibles. When financial issues can’t be decided by the parties, where do they turn?

For help in deciding complex and difficult financial issues, one option is a Financial Early Neutral Evaluation (FENE).

A FENE is held with an evaluator, someone who is a highly-skilled attorney or accountant with an extensive working knowledge of property issues addressed within Minnesota family law. These evaluators have generally worked with the courts long enough to have a very good feel for how a judge is likely to decide regarding your property issues. While your evaluator is not able to predict exactly how the judge will decide in your particular case, he or she can assist you in determining what property is marital or non-marital, give you creative options for handling various pay-outs such as spousal maintenance or the division of a 401k, and even keep you grounded when the stress of the divorce has you spending attorney’s fees to insist upon relatively worthless and easily-replaced items.

If your family law matter involves a divorce and you’re concerned about the division of assets or other financial issues, you need representation to guide you through the process.

Definition of a Karon Wavier & Nice-Petersen Standard

In addition to the endless acronyms, some of which we have provided a key for in a previous blog post, you may hear your family law attorney use other terms which leave you scratching your head. Sometimes these terms are actually names of previous court cases which have been heard by the appellate courts and changed the law in a particular area.

For instance, in a case involving spousal maintenance, your attorney may mention a “Karon waiver.” This means that, based on a 1989 case that went to the Minnesota Supreme Court, i.e. Karon v. Karon, language can be put into your divorce decree which divests the court of jurisdiction to ever address the issue of spousal maintenance again. Therefore, if you agree that there will be no spousal maintenance and you also have a Karon waiver, then neither spouse can ever come back to the court and ask for spousal maintenance in the future. Likewise, if you agree to spousal maintenance of $500 per month for 5 years, then neither spouse can ask for the time period to be lengthened or shortened or for the amount to be raised or lowered. You get what you agreed to and that’s it. Period.

In a case involving a request to modify child custody, your attorney may discuss the “Nice-Petersen standard.” This standard was established in a 1981 case, Nice-Petersen v. Nice-Petersen, that went to the Minnesota Supreme Court and determined the threshold for obtaining an evidentiary hearing in a child custody modification proceeding is that the moving party must present sufficient evidence in affidavits, which the court must presume are true, to show that endangerment of the child has occurred. If the moving party meets this standard, they are entitled to an evidentiary hearing, or trial, on the issue.

Our family law attorneys are well-informed on the current status of the key precedential cases in all areas of family law and will be able to advise you accordingly as to how they may apply to the particular facts in your case. Please contact our firm today .

Part. 1: Common Acronyms In A Family Law Case

Throughout the course of your Minnesota family law proceeding, you are likely to hear quite a few acronyms used by your family law attorney and by the Court. Below is a key for some of these acronyms:

ICMC: Initial Case Management Conference. This is the first acronym you are likely to hear because it’s often the first step after the case has been filed with the court. An ICMC is a chance to meet the judicial officer assigned to your case and discuss resources that might be available to you for resolving your case without proceeding to litigation. There are no arguments made or decisions issued at an ICMC. Depending on the judge, he or she may not even wear a robe or sit on the bench. There’s no court reporter taking anything down, unless you have agreements which you would like to formalize on the record.

ENE: Early Neutral Evaluation. This is one of the resources available mentioned above that will be discussed at your ICMC. It’s “early” because it’s often right after the ICMC so before the case has really headed too far down the litigation track. It’s “neutral” because it involves someone who doesn’t know anything about your family. It’s an “evaluation” because, unlike a traditional mediation, the neutral(s) involved will give you an opinion about what they think after hearing some facts from you and the other party about your case.

FENE: Financial Early Neutral Evaluation. Typically only in Minnesota divorce cases, an ENE as described above which involves financial issues such as division of assets and liabilities and cash flow issues like spousal maintenance and child support. An FENE just involves one neutral, usually an attorney or an accountant. After providing the evaluator with information regarding your assets, liabilities, income, and expenses, the evaluator will then explain to you, based on their family court experience, what they think a likely outcome is for your case and see if they can help you and your spouse reach an agreement on the financial issues in your case.

SENE/CPENE: Social Early Neutral Evaluation/Custody and Parenting Time Early Neutral Evaluation. An SENE as described above which involves issues related to the children, included legal custody, physical custody, and parenting time schedules. In order to ensure no gender bias, this process involves two neutrals, one male and one female, typically family law attorneys, social workers, or psychologists. You will have the opportunity to tell the evaluators about the history of your relationship with the other parent, your relationship with your children, what you are asking for as an outcome in your case, and any concerns you have about the other parent. You will also have the opportunity to hear the other parent tell the evaluators the same information from their perspective. After hearing about the issues from both parties, the evaluators will confer and then give you recommendations on their opinion(s) as to likely outcomes in your case. After hearing their recommendations, they will help you and the other parent try to reach an agreement which is in your children’s best interests.

As always, if you have questions about any of the above acronyms, please call us to set up your consultation.

Make sure to check back for Part. 2 of Common Acronyms In A Family Law Case

Appeals Court Limits Permanent Alimony

“Appeals Court Limits Permanent Alimony” is an Associated Press article partner Linda Allen.

A spouse who doesn’t try to become self-sufficient after a divorce shouldn’t be awarded long-term alimony, the Minneasota Court of Appeals has decided.

A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday in the case of Patricia Youker, who earned a two-year fashion degree during her 18-year marriage. She was dressing mannequins for a department store and earning much less than her husband, Nick, when they divorced in 1999.

Continue reading “Appeals Court Limits Permanent Alimony”