Divorce for Business Owners

About You: The Business Owner Getting Divorced

If you’re here, it is likely you or someone important to you is considering (or already experiencing) a New Jersey divorce, separation, custody dispute, or other important family law issue. But you probably already know that your divorce, like your life as a business owner, will be unique.

Let’s be honest — running a business can be tough on a marriage. It’s an often high-stress way of life that requires endless amounts of time and energy. (Not to mention capital, the lifeblood of any business.) Then, ironically, the fact that you own a business makes your divorce more complex! It’s like you can’t win! But true entrepreneurs rarely give up. By reading this book you are taking an important step: one of educating yourself on your important rights (as well as your responsibilities) consistent with a New Jersey Divorce for a business owner. 

As business owners, we often pride ourselves on “playing to win.”  But I assure you, this is not a game.  Indeed, a New Jersey divorce is serious business.  The outcome of your case will have wide-reaching impact on your life, your children, your finances, and yes—your business. 

Although courtroom procedure and minutia will have to be dealt with, Divorces and family law matters are often a highly personal process that will likely have a great impact upon your future and that of your children. Just as your future changed the day you got married, so it will change again the day you or your partner file for divorce and again once the divorce is finalized.  You may envision your divorce as a “wizard’s duel” of sorts, but what about the collateral damage to yourself and everyone else around you? Just as you had to learn how to build your business, now you must learn how to save it. How to not allow your personal life to infect or damage what you have worked so hard to build.

Divorce is a time when many people lose their sense of self.  Many people lose their jobs during the divorce because it impacts their concentration and takes up a great deal of time.  As a business owner, you do not have that luxury: your team depends on you.  It’s best to understand from the start that a divorce in New Jersey is often a brick-by-brick matter that may take up to a year or more to complete.  If you attempt to be measured in your responses and work with an attorney that will do the same, then perhaps you can save yourself a lot of money and a great deal of headaches.  Of course, if you’re being pushed around and the other side is not acting in good faith then you’ll have to be more aggressive to neutralize their tactics. Choosing the right path can be the difference between losing your sense of self, losing your children, or losing your business–or coming out of the matter relatively unscathed and focused on a brighter future.

Although a lot goes into the divorce process itself, our firm assists business owners like you every day in crafting divorces that will reference your unique future goals.  What is your ideal parenting arrangement?  What assets will you be entitled to? How can you make sure your Prenuptial Agreement will be Enforced?  What type of Alimony and Child Support Should be Paid?  What is the appropriate valuation of your business?  How can you avoid a “double dip” of having to both pay alimony based on a business income but also be imputed value for the business considered in equitable distribution of assets? These are all decisions that will have a long-term impact on your life and your business. 

Do the right thing for yourself and your children, hire the right lawyer, keep informed, don’t lose sight of your goals, and get through this as intact as possible. Your quality of life and your business may just depend upon it. 

Here we will address certain issues that often come up at divorce consults involving business owner clients. 

Q.  How long will it take to be divorced?

A.   Perhaps surprisingly, this is the number one question I am asked–even above how much the divorce will likely cost. 

The average divorce is approximately one year. For a divorce where one or more businesses are involved, however, the average may be closer to a year and a half or two years. The actual range, however, may be as little as one or two months to upwards of three or even four years in highly-contested matters.  There are a number of factors that affect how long it takes to finalize a divorce, including whether the parties pursue mediation or litigation, the complexity of the case, the reasonableness of the parties and counsel in negotiating, the speed at which financial documents are exchanged, the ease of valuing the business, and the desires of the parties to bring the matter to a close.

Q.  What are the legal fees involved in getting divorced?

A.  I, like most new jersey divorce attorneys, bill by the hour.  For the reasons mentioned above, it is therefore impossible to provide clients with a cost as it will range on how long it takes to get divorce and more specifically by the number of hours of legal work performed.  The cost can therefore range from low four digits to low six-figures, although the range for most divorces is more likely between $5,000 and $25,000 and $10,000-$45,000 in cases involving business owners.   We endeavor to work efficiently for our clients to provide encompassing advice while avoiding an overly burdensome cost. Generally I will seek at least a $7,500.00 retainer for a contested divorce involving a business owner. For motions or uncontested divorces the retainer amount will generally be less.  Obviously a modest side-business may not require as much of a retainer or as much work but if you are reading this book it is assumed your business or businesses are your primary income source or primary asset. 

Q.  What are My Responsibilities while the Divorce is Pending?

A.  Essentially both parties are required, while the divorce is pending (known as the pendente lite phase of litigation) to maintain the “marital status quo.” This means maintaining insurance, not encumbering or dissipating marital assets or incurring inappropriate marital debt, paying certain regular expenses, and the like.  Parenting time and access to children should also maintain the status quo of the marriage.

Q.  What if an Act of Domestic Violence Occurs?

You should immediately contact your local police department or the court and file a temporary restraining order.

Q.  Will I be Entitled to Custody and Parenting Time?

A.  In most instances, courts favor joint legal custody.  There is even a movement towards joint physical custody.  Joint legal custody involves the ability to make important decisions in a child’s life and physical custody addresses who will more often be providing daily care to the child.  These cases are particularly fact-sensitive, but courts almost always favor parenting time for both parents unless same would be detrimental to the best interests of the parties’ child.  Although custody and parenting time are generally not impacted by business ownership (and are written about more extensively in my first book, Happily EVEN After, the amount of time one spends out of the home and out building the business may impact custody claims.  Likewise, the flexibility of business ownership may allow for additional parenting time or custody. 

Q.  How is Child Support Calculated?

A.  New Jersey utilizes “Child Support Guidelines,” a type of algorithm that provides a weekly child support obligation based on various factors including the incomes (imputed or real) of the parties, the amount of overnights each parent exercises with the children, the number of children, and the children’s age. It is more difficult to impute income or calculate income in a business as it requires an analysis of reasonable business expenses.  The same is true for formulating an appropriate alimony obligation. 

Q.  How Do I Know if I am Entitled to Alimony or if I have an Alimony Obligation?

A.  Unlike with child support, New Jersey has yet (although this could change in the future) to enact alimony guidelines.  Accordingly, Court’s address a number of factors such as the length of the marriage, the income/income potential of each party and the parties’ ages, in determining whether alimony is appropriate and if so, whether the alimony should be permanent, term, rehabilitative, or reimbursement.  As stated above, alimony may also be provided “pendente lite.”

Q.  Why should I Choose Carl Taylor Law, LLC for my Divorce?

A.  Because we will work with you to assess your goals and help provide closure so you can move forward with your life.  Hopefully this book will help answer the question of whether we will be a good fit or not for your important New Jersey family law matters. Managing partner Carl Taylor is a business owner and enjoys working with other entrepreneurs of all sizes.  Our firm emphasizes the representation of hard-working business owners and provides resources and information to such clients so they can become an active and valuable part of their own legal team. 

                              A Note on: New Jersey Divorce: Initial Consultations

A divorce initial consultation is very important.  Generally, it is the first time an attorney and a prospective client meet one another.  It is important for both parties to be prepared for the meeting and determine if a successful working relationship is possible.  Some clients find the initial consultation stressful, so I wanted to address the nature of an initial consultation, at least how our firm handles them. 

Q. What to Bring to the Divorce Initial Consultation?

There are certain intake procedures and forms that our firm utilizes prior to meeting with a client.  The more information we receive prior to the initial consultation, then the better prepared we can be to provide preliminary advice on how to proceed.  This is even more important when a party is a business owner as there will be no handy W-2’s or paystubs to demonstrate income. We will need at a minimum any prenuptial agreements, any prior orders, the last three years of tax returns, and K-1’s, incorporating documents, and other relevant business and personal documents.  Although our firm is not formally retained until a retainer agreement is signed with our firm, we do like to provide clients with general information as well as more specific pieces of information such as likely alimony and child support ranges.  As our website has numerous articles, videos, podcasts, e-books, and more available, we encourage you to partake in these free resources offered by our firm.

Q: What Types of Questions Will You Ask Me During the Divorce Initial Consultation?

Similar to most doctor’s offices, I like to begin with asking basic information such as a prospective client’s contact information, date of birth, date of marriage, etc.  Then, I generally will ask the prospective client why they are meeting with our firm.  It is important to air out the marital issues so that we can later focus on more technical information gathering.  Has the prospective client attempted marriage counseling?  Is their marriage salvageable?  Has their spouse already retained an attorney or filed formal divorce proceedings?  These are all important questions that will be asked.

From there, I will generally ask a series of questions in hopes of learning the parties’ financial situation.  New Jersey is a “no-fault” divorce state, so financial considerations are, along with child custody, the heart of New Jersey divorce law.  Some of the areas I will address with a client include:

• Both parties’ income/employment (personal or business);
• The status of their children.
• Possible custody issues.
• Real property such as the marital home.
• Business assets and liabilities;
• Bank accounts.
• Investment accounts.
• Retirement accounts or pensions.
• College costs.
• Premarital, gifted, personal injury, or inherited property.
• Life insurance.
• Health insurance.
• Automobiles, vehicles, boats.
• Stock options.
• Businesses.
• Profit sharing plans.
• Loans/debts.

Once these important topics (and other such topics) are discussed, I will then be able to provide the potential client with some perspective on where their case may be heading.  I may discuss alternate dispute resolution options with the client. If litigation is the likely outcome, I will provide some insight into how the case will likely turn out.  I will also provide clients with a copy of my book Happily EVEN After (and if appropriate, a copy of this book as well) along with any other important articles.  This allows clients to save money by being able to reference answers to some of their questions without being required to seek attorney or paralegal time.  Of course, if we are needed we are always here to assist.  This is the backbone of the efficiency that our firm prides itself on. 

Initial consultations end with a question/answer session and information on the next steps if a prospective client wishes to become a client.  Likely costs, attorneys’ fees, and the retainer amount will also be discussed at this time.

FAQ Conclusion

By focusing on the goals of the client and meshing those goals with the facts of the case and the relevant law, a tailored strategy can be crafted from early in a case to reach the desired outcome or goals.  This is true for all divorces and is particularly important for divorces involving business-owners. 

 Divorce for Business Owners: The Why?

         “Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.” – Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon

 Many studies suggest that there is a 10% higher risk of divorce for business owners versus W-2 employees. For those of us that own businesses (or are married to an entrepreneur), this number is probably quite shocking.  Indeed, how is it not higher?  Long hours, high-stress, business trips, sporadic cash-flow, and sweat equity–all time away from our families working to build a better future but sometimes neglecting the present. 

And then there is the passion.  For us it’s often a great passion building our businesses, but for our spouses there was probably that moment early on when talking about how many widgets we sold (or clients we served) became just a bit less exciting.  As entrepreneurs, big or small, we have to juggle the money, be creative, have all or most of the answers, be therapists to our employees, and hopefully be home in time for dinner.  Most marriages do not come to a natural end because of a blow-out argument, instead the foundation of the marriage is slowly chipped away and eroded over years—and all with the best of intentions.

Still, divorce is a complex and not easily reversed procedure.  For that reason I encourage most of our clients to seek marriage counseling (and/or individual therapy) prior to filing for divorce.  I find that this has an advantage even if the marriage cannot be saved because at the very least it helps both parties process the end of the marriage.  Emotion is natural and has to be addressed–better to do it in a safe place with a therapist than in a courtroom when both sides are paying hundreds of dollars an hour for lawyers.

Equitable Distribution When a Party is a Minority Shareholder in a Business

One of the factors that may complicate a divorce proceeding is when one (or both) of the parties has an interest in a closely held business/corporation.  After an analysis is conducted to determine whether the business is subject to equitable distribution, the major issue becomes one of valuation.  Unlike publicly traded companies, it might be difficult to value how much each share in a closely held corporation is worth.  Yet, it will be nearly impossible to settle a divorce without agreement as to this important issue.

Here we are going to briefly examine one element of valuation: the amount of control an individual has in a closely-held corporation.

Often times, experts will be retained to perform an evaluation of a parties’ interest in a closely-held corporation.  While every expert may have their own techniques, there are some commonly accepted principles they should follow. One principle that might be used is the idea of a discount for minority shareholders. The thought process behind such a principle is that minority (sometimes call oppressed) shareholders do not have as much power/decision making ability—and therefore lack the ability to shape the direction of their business.  In short, the minority shareholder’s shares may not possess the value of a majority shareholders.

Parties to a divorce and/or the parties attorneys are free to reach an Agreement regarding valuation and whether a minority discount would apply.  In recent years, however, New Jersey courts have become increasingly reluctant to render a decision taking a minority valuation into account.  The case Brown v. Brown, 348 N.J. Super. 466, 487-88, 792 A.2d 463, 476-77 (App. Div. 2002), provides a great overview of the Court’s mentality.

That said, many appraisers/valuation experts will maintain that a minority discount makes mathematical and logical sense. A lack of control renders a minority shareholder’s assets less valuable than a majority shareholder.   

In most cases, valuation of a closely held corporation will not be at issue.  In more complicated cases, where the case may turn on such a valuation, careful attention needs to be made to whether a minority shareholder’s shares will be granted a discount in valuation due to their lack of authority and control within the company.

Royalties and Divorce: For Those Business Owners and Independent Contractors in Creative Fields

                        

For many authors and creatives, known and not so well known, their written words, their lyrics, the songs they have sung, the canvasses they have painted have a real world value. Indeed, they may make up the largest assets available. As movies such as Dune prove, it’s evident that the right sort of intellectual property can have value long after its creator’s death.

If you’re a creative, (or if you’re married to a creative,) then you’re going to need to address intellectual property, royalties, and other such issues as part of your divorce negotiation. This is true even if the works have not taken off (yet). For instance, George R.R. Martin’s fiction was far from lucrative for many years of his career, apparently buoyed by writing scripts for television. Now he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars (even if he never writes another word).

You may need to use expert witnesses to determine the value of creative works and future creative works. Creatives are ultimately small business owners, in the business of marketing their own creations. Film rights, adaptations, reprints, royalties, advances, and so on must be calculated and considered as part of divorce settlement. (Consider the scene in the 2019 movie Marriage Story when Adam Driver’s character is advised he may lose half of the funds from his Guggenheim “genius” grant).

This goes beyond equitable distribution, touching on everything from alimony and child support to custody and parenting time.

                                        Divorce For Writers and Creatives

It may be argued that a struggling creative should be imputed income for purposes of alimony, or even tasked with finding more gainful employment. Likewise, a creative may be able to successfully argue that their flexible schedule allows for additional parenting time or custody.

Because a creative’s salary may oscillate wildly (a big advance this year, then little or no income the next two…), it may be complicated to determine an appropriate amount of child support or alimony.

When it comes to royalties, timing will be very important. When was the work published, but also when was it written? Can a work written in the last year of a marriage generate income for an ex for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years? The answer is maybe, and like everything else in a divorce, this will have to be negotiated.

Conclusion

Creatives may find divorce even more frustrating than most parties. The artistic temperament can sometimes seem at odds with the cruel logic of our court systems. And because of the issues addressed above, a creative’s divorce may be more complicated than average.

If you’re a creative business owner, or independent contractor, then you’ll need to consider how royalties and other creative valuations may impact your divorce.

Good Faith Retirement for the Self-Employed

Alimony is often more difficult for the self-employed. It just is. There’s less consistency for most business owners in terms of their salaries, their work schedules, even how long they intend to remain in business.

Alimony is a concept that thrives on consistency, and for many business owners that sort of stability is simply not there. There are up years and down years, and success is not always linear. Industries change, goals change, and yes…people change….

And yet an alimony award is expected to hold steady. And for many payors, it is expected to continue until a good faith retirement is reached.

But what is that, in the context of entrepreneurship?

What Does Good Faith Retirement Even Mean?

In New Jersey, parties may negotiate the end of alimony. This may mean a specific date, but will frequently be more nebulous. The death of either party will end alimony, but so might the “good faith retirement” of the party paying alimony.

But what is a “good faith retirement?” The law was modified in September 2014, to reflect a change in the burden of proof.

Pre September-2014, the burden was on the person paying alimony to show how they demonstrated a good faith retirement. Post September 2014 (the enactment date of the new law), the burden has shifted to the party receiving alimony to demonstrate how a good faith retirement has not been shown.

Post September 2014, good faith retirement is generally demonstrated by reaching the age of full social security benefits. So, if you were born in the social security band where you can retire with full benefits at age sixty-six, for instance, then there is a rebuttable presumption that you should be retired at that time.

Now, if a party continues to work, then perhaps that means they will continue paying alimony. But the important thing is that they will not be required to continue working while contributing to alimony.

And this is all fairly simple and intuitive…especially for W-2 income earners. You work the job and one day you retire with (hopefully) some form of social security. Maybe even a pension.

But maybe that’s not you. Maybe you’re a business owner. And if you are self-employed, then you can probably already see how this issue could become quite complex.

What is a Good Faith Retirement for the Self-Employed?

There are so many different types of jobs that fit under the umbrella of self-employed. Everything from working as an independent contractor to being the president of a large privately held business. I’m your self-employed local attorney, but maybe you’re running a large factory. We’re both self-employed, though our operations, income, and work expectations may be quite different.

Some jobs are extremely physically taxing. It may be difficult to work those jobs unless you hire staff to continue with the work.

Some business owners might sell their business at a young age and make enough money to earn an early retirement.

Many business owners cannot imagine ever retiring, although they may step into a different role.

But all such cases—along with those not mentioned herein—all must meet and be accessed in accordance with the New Jersey Alimony Reform Act, and its definition and consideration of “good faith retirement.”

Some of the factors that may determine good faith retirement for a business owner may include: 

• Has the owner sold all or a portion of their business?
• Is the alimony payor a majority or a minority shareholder of a business?
• Has the payor really retired, or have they merely moved into a consulting role?
• What is the specific alimony language contained in the parties’ Marital Settlement Agreement?
• How many hours a week does the business owner work?
• What type of net income has the business owner generated year over year?
• How healthy is the business owner?
• How health is the business owner’s business?
• Are there outside investors in the business?
• What is the valuation of the business?

And also, has the payee already received a portion of a business as part of the original divorce negotiation? 

Remember, New Jersey law does not allow for “double dip” payments. That means that you cannot be required to pay equitable distribution costs and alimony costs for the same asset.

In other words, you should not be required to pay out to your ex a portion of the business valuation, and to then also pay alimony on that portion. And yes, this can make for some tricky and complex accounting gymnastics.

Retirement and Personal Preference

I’ve had many entrepreneurial clients advise me that they could retire, that they are at a good faith retirement age, but that they feel conflicted. You see, they do not wish to continue paying any more alimony than necessary to their ex, but they also feel like they may have something to contribute to their business.

I advise such clients that this is often a personal decision. It’s easy to cut one’s nose to spite one’s face in divorce law. Too easy, if I’m being perfectly candid. But to borrow another idiom, there’s also more than one way to skin a cat.

The other side may be aware that you could good-faith retire at any time. Perhaps you and your lawyer can thus work out a buy-out of additional alimony, or lower the percentage of proceeds paid as and for alimony. That could be a win-win for both parties, perhaps. It’s best not to assume that the other side will merely be unreasonable. It’s always worth a bit of time and effort to have them reveal that themselves.

This is more of an issue in cases with open durational alimony (previously known as permanent alimony before the Alimony Reform Act of 2014). With alimony continuing on until the parties’ agreed to terminate it, or a court ordered the termination, some business owners find themselves paying alimony into their eighties or even nineties. In these types of situations, so long as you are earning money from your business, you may have an alimony obligation. Limited duration alimony, on the other hand, will have a natural end date so that you may work unencumbered by concerns about your ex taking a piece of your pie.

Conclusion

But of course, the important thing is to consider what works best for your life. I’ve heard some W-2 employees claim they will not work overtime, because they will have to pay more in taxes. This never made a lot of sense to me, as they would also be making more money.

It’s a similar sentiment for many when it comes to alimony. They would rather take 0%, then take 80% and share the other 20% with an ex.

I’ve even heard a couple people claim they enjoy paying taxes, rare as that sentiment may be. I’ve yet to hear a similar claim about paying alimony to an ex.

As with many issues in divorce law, good faith retirement for business owners is highly fact sensitive. It’s best to discuss your specific facts with a lawyer to determine if you have reached good faith retirement under the New Jersey alimony laws.

Detangling Personal and Business Expenses

There are many reasons why divorce for W-2 earns are simpler than for business owners. Today I’m going to cover one of the more complex issues for business owners going through a divorce: determining income. More specifically, how can personal and business expenses be detangled.

When Business Income isn’t Really Income

The two primary accounting methodologies accrual accounting and cash accounting. The basic difference is that cash accounting focuses on recording expenses or income when actually received, whereas accrual accounting focuses on recording expenses or income as such events naturally occur.

For instance, in accrual accounting you would record an electric bill the moment it is received, but in cash accounting you would only record it when you actually pay the invoice.

For business owners, what often appears as income may in fact be something else altogether. Perhaps the $20,000 ‘income’ this year has simply been held and earmarked for new equipment next year.

If you’re going through a divorce, the other side may then argue that the $20,000 ‘income’ be used in calculating alimony.

So instead, you purchase the equipment this year. And now the other side is arguing that you’re attempting to deflate your income to reduce your alimony exposure.

Divorce as a small business owner can often feel like a lose-lose proposition. Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. And it’s not like you don’t still have a business to run.

And of course the $20,000 figure I used is completely arbitrary. Maybe it’s $40,000, or $100,000. To you it’s a necessary business expense, but to the other side it’s setting off red flags, and calls of divorce planning.

So…what can be done?

Using Expert Witnesses in Business Divorce Cases

One thing that can be done is the retaining of expert(s) to provide business valuation reports. Perhaps they can speak to subjects such as expected expenditure in various categories, and what type of infrastructure, hiring, or upgrades is necessary for a business.

A written business plan can also be helpful in this scenario. Demonstrating that you have a plan, and that these decisions are not made in an arbitrary manner can go a long way in demonstrating good faith.

Another issue is separating personal expenses from business expenses. This is something both the Internal Revenue Service and your ex may have their eye on.

Separating Personal from Business Expenses

The car you lease, the restaurants you frequent, the vacations you take. The other side will be looking at these expenditures to analyze whether they are appropriate, or if you are attempting to reduce your business income. Remember, the other side is already skeptical, they know that many people attempt to reduce their income to pay less in taxes.

Now, with a divorce pending (or on the horizon), they believe you have every motivation to further reduce your income. Doing so can help in multiple ways: it can help reduce alimony and child support, and may also reduce the valuation of your business.

Here, as with many parts of your divorce, is where keeping solid records will be helpful. If you can demonstrate that your leased car is actually a legitimate business expense, for instance, then that can help you reduce your alimony exposure.

Consistency of expenses may be helpful here as well. There may be an “appearance of impropriety” if there is a sudden increase in expenses leading up to a divorce with no legitimate reason for the increase.

Other times, you may be able to demonstrate that increased expenses are necessary to take advantage of limited opportunities, or to increase the infrastructure of your business.

Some businesses legitimately maintain multiple sets of books, and you may need to address this with your attorney to make sure your legitimate business practices do not come across as shady.

If a court believes that a business expense is really better classified as a personal expense, then they may add that back into your income. Family court judges have a great deal of latitude in this regard.

Conclusion

Divorce cases are always fact-sensitive, and even more so when a divorce involves a business owner. Whether you are a single member LLC, an S-Corp, or a simple independent contractor, your business records may be discoverable as part of a divorce litigation.

Finding the right attorney to work through the law and the facts specific to your case (and business) can make all the difference.

 A Final Word on Divorce for Entrepreneurs

As you reach the conclusion of this brief guide, I hope you have a better understanding not only of the nuts and bolts of New Jersey Divorce law and procedure, but also how a New Jersey divorce may be distinct for business owners.    

As humans we like to be in control, but in a divorce certain elements are out of our control.  We largely cannot control the judges, the law, or how the other side acts.  But we can control our own though processes and actions to move forward in the right spirit seeking the most advantageous yet reasonable approaches available to us.  It’s only human to feel negative emotions such as anger, frustration, disappointment, jealousy, and guilt during a divorce—particularly when you must also juggle all the demands of entrepreneurship.  Working as a divorce attorney, (and as a fellow business owner), I know that sometimes I too have to address my own emotions when caught up in a moment.  But it’s ultimately a lot cheaper and more effective to take those emotions out in a healthy way.  Go take a long run, or hit a punching bag: you’ll be better off in the long run and so will your children.  

My professional philosophy is that Emotion is the single-largest X-Factor in a divorce. Although as business owners we like to pride ourselves on being reasoned and logical, we are also people that are used to taking charge, and we are usually passionate people.  Emotion and its impact on a divorce is a constant in all divorces—whether your are the founder of a fortune 500 company or own a local landscaping business.  How you bob and weave through the difficult process will have a great impact on your post-divorce life and happiness—as well as that of your business.

Although the attorney you choose to collaborate with is important; nobody will have a greater impact on your divorce or play a more important role than you!  We look forward to hearing from you about any questions you may have involving your case. 

Partner with Carl Taylor, Esq.

Ready to Find Your Happily EVEN After? Call Today at 609-359-3345 to Schedule a Confidential Consult (or click here to self-schedule online) and Receive a Free Copy of the 3rd Edition of my 200+ page book, Happily EVEN After: The Guide to Divorce in New Jersey.