If you're going through a contested divorce in New Jersey, at some point you may hear your lawyer say that your case has been scheduled for an Early Settlement Panel, usually referred to as an ESP. So what exactly is it?
An Early Settlement Panel is an opportunity to have experienced New Jersey matrimonial attorneys take a fresh look at the financial issues in your divorce and help you and your spouse determine whether there is a reasonable way to settle them. The panelists aren't your lawyers. They aren't judges. And they aren't there to make a binding decision. They're there to help you settle.
The Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel is part of New Jersey's divorce settlement process. The panelists are experienced attorneys who volunteer their time to review divorce cases and provide neutral recommendations about unresolved financial issues.
Before the ESP, each side submits information explaining the relevant facts, the issues that remain unresolved, and that party's position on how those issues should be settled. That preparation is important.
The panelists don't know you. They haven't been handling your divorce for months. They need enough information to understand the important financial issues and why each side is taking its position.
The ESP is primarily focused on the economic issues in your divorce. Depending upon the case, that may include alimony, division of property, the marital home, retirement accounts, debts, and other financial disputes. The purpose is to give both sides an independent perspective.
By the time you reach an ESP, you and your spouse may have been arguing about the same issues for months. Your lawyer has explained why your position makes sense. Your spouse's lawyer has presumably been doing exactly the same thing for your spouse.
Then experienced matrimonial attorneys who aren't representing either one of you look at the dispute. Sometimes hearing that outside perspective can change the conversation.
The exact procedure can vary somewhat, but generally each side presents its position to the panelists. Your attorney explains the important facts, identifies the unresolved financial issues, and explains how you believe those issues should be resolved. Your spouse's attorney does the same.
The panelists review the information and make recommendations about how the disputed financial issues might reasonably be settled. Those recommendations are not binding.
You aren't required to accept them simply because the panelists suggested them. But you should take them seriously.
One of the biggest problems in divorce negotiations is that both people can become convinced that their position is the only reasonable one. Sometimes they're getting advice from family members. Sometimes they're comparing their divorce to a friend's divorce. Sometimes they're focusing on what they believe is "fair" without understanding how New Jersey divorce law applies to their particular circumstances. The ESP gives you another perspective.
If the recommendation is relatively close to the position your attorney has been discussing with you, that may give you additional confidence about the range in which the case could reasonably settle. If it's very different, that's useful information too. The important thing is to discuss the recommendation with your attorney and understand why the panelists reached it.
If the recommendation helps both sides reach an agreement, you may be able to resolve some or all of the financial issues in your divorce. That's the goal.
Once the terms of the settlement are established, they can ultimately be incorporated into the documents necessary to finalize the divorce, including a Matrimonial Settlement Agreement when appropriate.
Reaching a settlement also means that you and your spouse retain control over the outcome rather than asking a judge to make those financial decisions after a trial.
Then your divorce continues. An unsuccessful ESP doesn't mean you've failed, and it doesn't necessarily mean you're immediately going to trial. There are additional opportunities to settle a New Jersey divorce, including post-ESP economic mediation and continued negotiations between the parties and their attorneys. If those efforts don't resolve the remaining disputes, the case can eventually proceed toward trial.
Sometimes an ESP doesn't settle the case that day but still moves the parties closer together. Maybe ten issues were disputed when you walked in and only three remain when you leave. That's still progress.
I've found the Early Settlement Panel to be a useful part of the New Jersey divorce process because it gives clients something they don't always get during ordinary negotiations: an independent assessment from experienced matrimonial attorneys who aren't representing either side.
You may agree with their recommendation. You may disagree with it. Either way, listen carefully. Ask your attorney what he or she thinks about the recommendation and how it compares with the risks and costs of continuing the case.
The ESP isn't there to force you into a settlement. It's there to give you another opportunity to resolve your financial disputes before spending considerably more time and money fighting about them.
If you're going through a New Jersey divorce and want to understand the ESP, mediation, settlement, and the other stages your case may go through, my free Divorce Smarter Course explains the process in straightforward terms.
Until next time,
Steve