What is an SENE?

An SENE is a Social Early Neutral Evaluation. An SENE is voluntary mediation that some counties provide for parties to settle custody disputes. An SENE will take place prior to any trial proceedings. It is a confidential mediation session, which means that the judge will never know about the discussions that take place or the information that is shared. The only thing that the evaluators will tell a judge is if the parties reached an agreement. If the parties do reach an agreement, then the evaluators will tell the judge the terms of the agreement. Both parties and their attorneys sit down with two evaluators-one man and one woman.

The evaluators will then ask each party various questions about their relationship with their children. The evaluators do not have any court documents or any outside information about the case; everything they learn about the case comes from what the parties tell them at the SENE. The evaluators will also ask about the relationship that the other person has with the children. This is a chance for the parties to speak about any concerns they have for the children. The evaluators are mandatory reporters, which means that they must report any abuse or concerns that are raised about the children’s welfare. One each party has had a turn to speak, the evaluators will leave the room and discuss what they heard. Based on the information the parties provided, the evaluators will come up with a recommendation for custody.

This recommendation is what the evaluators believe the judge would rule in a custody trial. For example, the evaluators may say that the father should have sole physical custody of the children and share joint legal custody with the children. The parties will then have some time to reflect on the recommendation and talk to their attorneys. Then the attorneys will tell the evaluators what the parties think of the recommendation. If the parties agree with the recommendation, or they agree to modify the recommendation, then the attorneys can draft up a custody agreement. If the parties cannot agree, then the matter will be handled by the judge. An SENE is a fantastic way for the parties to save time, money, and to avoid an emotional custody battle.