Banas Family Law, P.A.

1. At any point in the legal process, from the initial judicial management conference to a pretrial settlement conference, the judicial officer may refer parties and their attorneys to Hennepin County Family Court Services for an ENE.
2. A male/female ENE team of experienced FCS staff is assigned to the case.
3. Hennepin County divorce attorneys and parties meet with the ENE team within one week after the assignment. Each attorney or pro se party is asked to present the important issues in the case. Unless it is necessary to gather additional information, the ENE team provides immediate feedback about each party's case. Settlement possibilities are discussed and areas needing further scrutiny are identified.
4. The ENE team may gather additional information as necessary and the team may interview parties, interview child(ren), or gather limited collateral data.
5. The attorneys and parties may meet a second time with the ENE team to hear the team's assessment and recommendations. Settlement options for full and partial agreements are discussed. If the case does not settle, the team identifies critical issues that may need additional study.
6. If a full or partial settlement is reached, a copy of the agreement is sent to the judicial officer. If a full agreement is not reached, a report is made to the judicial officer by the ENE team regarding partial agreements that have been reached. The report may be written or oral. The ENE team members may not be called as a witness with respect to the information obtained or the recommendations made during the ENE process.  In addition to reporting full and partial settlements, the ENE team members may communicate with the judicial officer for the limited purpose of facilitating case management. For example, if one fact issue stands in the way of settlement, such as a chemical health issue, the ENE team may report the disputed issue to the judicial officer for case management purposes. Armed with such information, the judicial officer may opt for a chemical health assessment rather than a full-fledged custody evaluation.
7. If the case does not settle, the judicial officer consults with the parties and their attorneys to decide the next step, which may be mediation, an expedited evaluation of the remaining issues, or a full custody evaluation.

If you have questions regarding Early Neutral Evaluation in Minnesota, please contact Minnesota divorce lawyer Chris Banas: 651-361-8109.

If there is a dispute in Minnesota over custody and parenting time, the court will likely order the parties to undergo some sort of "evaluation". "Evaluation" is a fluid term, and can mean a variety of things. To understand the "evaluation" itself and the process you will have to undertake, you must understand the different types of players who may be assigned to your case. The most commons types of "evaluations" and the professionals who conduct them are set forth below. Your particular case may include only one of these individuals or many.

In custody and parenting time disputes, the court may appoint a Minnesota Guardian Ad Litem to your case. The guardian, also known as a "GAL," acts on behalf of the children. Generally, Guardians Ad Litem are appointed when there are allegations of maltreatment or abuse, emotional or physical.

The main responsibilities of the Gaurdian Ad Litem in Minnesota are:

My ex-girlfriend will not allow me to see my son. What can I do?

This is a common question, and I am often giving the answer of: Nothing, until you go to court.

The grim reality is this: Fathers who have children that were born out of wedlock are at a legal disadvantage, unless and until they assert their rights in a court of law. When a child is born out of wedlock, the mother automatically has sole legal and sole physical custody of that child. Further, the father has no right to parenting time (visitation) unless the mother agrees. In addition, child support is independent of custody and parenting time. This means that a child support order may issue, without any reference to custody or parenting time.

Child custody and parenting time evaluations, whether conducted by a private evaluator or court services, usually take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to complete. Once the evaluation is complete, your attorney will be given notice by receiving a copy of the evaluation. In some circumstances (which are rare) the evaluator will prefer to have a meeting with the parties and their attorneys to "review" his or her recommendations prior to the release of the written report. Most commonly, the report will be mailed to the parties' attorneys. [1]

In Minnesota, if you have children and you and the other parent cannot come to an agreement with respect to custody and parenting time, chances are your case will be subject to a custody and parenting time evaluation

A custody and parenting time evaluation is usually conducted by the county's court services department or by a private evaluator. For example, cases in Hennepin County are usually referred to Hennepin County Family Court Services, where an evaluation is conducted by an employee of that department. In other counties, such as Dakota, Scott, and Carver, evaluations are usually conducted by private individuals who contract with the parties for their services.

If you have persistent and significant disputes over parenting time, the court may appoint a parenting time expeditor to your case. A "PTE" as it is also known is unique, in that he or she has the authority to make a binding decision concerning parenting time that both parties must abide by. Some of the important parts of the statute are below: