As with most areas of law, divorce law is a complex arena. There are a plethora of rules, regulations, terms, and conditions that each divorcing party must be aware of. The best way to enter into a divorce proceeding is to educate yourself. On that note, here are the top 3 acronyms that you need to know when entering into a divorce.

  1. Social Early Neutral Evaluation (SENE) – A Social Early Neutral Evaluation is a voluntary program that helps divorcing parents predict and deal with custody and parenting time issues that arise from a divorce. An SENE is similar to divorce mediation except an SENE deals with social rather than financial issues. No final decisions are made during an SENE. It simply allows parents to get an idea of what will happen during the actual divorce proceeding.
  2. Financial Early Neutral Evaluation (FENE) – A Financial Early Neutral Evaluation is like a Social Neutral Evaluation, but (as the name suggests) focuses on financial rather than social issues of divorce. An FENE deals with issues such as child support, property division, and spousal maintenance. As with an SENE, a FENE only makes predictions about what each party can expect in a divorce.
  3. Initial Case Management Conference (ICMC) – The ICMC is the first meeting with your judge that occurs roughly 3 to 4 weeks after filing for divorce. The judge will review the options for resolving the divorce dispute and also set deadlines and appointments for moving forward with the divorce proceeding.

This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are a massive amount of terms that you need to understand in any family law matter. That’s why it’s always a good idea to talk to a family law attorney before entering into a divorce or other family law dispute.