6 crucial divorce terms you need to know
The 6 legal terms discussed in this blog: CFI & PRE, Financials, Interrogatories, Separation Agreement, Parenting Plan, Decree.
Hiring a divorce attorney is necessary to handle all elements of divorce but a little homework helps you make the best decisions possible. You can learn a lot by understanding some basic legalese.
The 6 legal terms….
1 & 2. CFI and PRE. A CFI is a Child & Family Investigator. A PRE is a Parental Responsibility Evaluator.
A CFI is supposedly specially trained and approved by the County, your case is in, to conduct a neutral investigation to opine to the Court the parenting plan that’s in your children’s best interests when the two of you cannot agree.
There is statutory language that limits the amounts a CFI may charge unless the CFI motions the court for additional funds and the court approves the request.
A PRE is a licensed mental health professional who is usually retained when
- Either one party accuses the other of having mental health issues.
- The children or child has mental health issues.
- Addictions of some kind raise concern for a parent’s ability to properly care for a child.
PREs conduct psychological assessments of the parties and then make recommendations regarding parenting time for the children. Because of the nature of the work involved a PRE is often much more expensive.
3. FINANCIALS – To get divorced, both parties need to complete a sworn financial statement that documents gross income, deductions, expenses, assets and debts.
The Court also mandates the exchange of certain financial information, known as your financial disclosures to support the information provided in the financial statement. The sworn financial statement and the documentation together are known as your “financials.”
4. INTERROGATORIES – These are requests for information or more documents. The circumstances arise when one party thinks the other party is not being truthful or is not providing all of the information necessary to make decisions for settlement or otherwise prepare the case for hearing, one may serve interrogatories upon the other for more answers.
5. SEPARATION AGREEMENT- The Separation Agreement or “SA” is the contract that spells out the division of the property, other assets, and debts. It’s the “who gets what and how” of your divorce.
6. PARENTING PLAN- A parenting plan is the Agreement –sometimes within the Separation Agreement and in some circumstances a separate document, determining the division and allocation of parental responsibilities. Parental responsibilities include a schedule of parenting time and child support.
Understanding these terms is one thing but having an attorney who can represent you in any legal proceedings is crucial. If you have questions or concerns please call us we would love to talk with you and see if we can help! Call us at 720-722-0776. or Email Us.
Teddi Ann Barry PC
