At a glance
- For spouses with businesses, professional practices, real estate, investment or retirement assets, or high incomes, on either side of the case.
- What we do: financial disclosure, tracing of separate property, valuation with experts, negotiation, and trial in the Supreme Court.
- The law: equitable distribution under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B); counsel fees under DRL § 237; confidential court records under DRL § 235.
- Cost: contested matters are not fixed-fee; terms are set in a written retainer agreement, as New York's court rules require.
- Timing varies with the issues, the county and the court's calendar; many matters resolve through negotiation.
Contested and high-net-worth divorce at Neuhaus & Yacoob
A contested divorce is one in which the spouses have not agreed on every issue, so the court may have to decide property division, support, custody or counsel fees. Even on the no-fault ground, the judgment cannot be granted until those issues are resolved by agreement or decided by the court (Domestic Relations Law (DRL) § 170(7)).
Neuhaus & Yacoob represents individuals and professionals whose divorces involve business interests, professional practices, real estate, investment and retirement accounts, and incomes above the support caps. Joel Yacoob personally handles every matter. Many matters resolve through negotiation; either way, the work starts with an accurate financial record.
Marital property and separate property in New York
Marital property is all property either spouse acquired during the marriage and before a separation agreement or the start of a matrimonial action, “regardless of the form in which title is held” (DRL § 236(B)(1)(c)). Separate property includes property acquired before the marriage; inheritances and gifts from someone other than the spouse; compensation for personal injuries; property acquired in exchange for separate property; and property described as separate in a valid written agreement (§ 236(B)(1)(d)).
Property acquired during the marriage is presumed marital, and the spouse who claims an asset is separate must prove it (Fields v. Fields, 15 N.Y.3d 158 (2010)). In Fields, paying the down payment with separate funds did not make the marital home separate (courts generally credit such a contribution instead), and commingled funds that could not be identified as separate were treated as marital. Tracing separate funds through accounts and purchases, with documents, often decides these claims.
When separate property grows during the marriage
An increase in the value of separate property is also separate, “except to the extent that such appreciation is due in part to the contributions or efforts of the other spouse” (DRL § 236(B)(1)(d)(3)). A business or building owned before the wedding can therefore carry a marital component. Separating market-driven growth from growth tied to a spouse’s contributions usually requires records and expert analysis; trusts and family entities raise similar questions (see trusts and equitable distribution).
How equitable distribution works
New York divides marital property “equitably,” meaning fairly in light of the circumstances and not necessarily equally (DRL § 236(B)(5)(c)). The court must weigh the factors in § 236(B)(5)(d) and state the factors it relied on and its reasons (§ 236(B)(5)(g)). The factors include:
- each spouse’s income and property at the marriage and at the start of the action, the length of the marriage, and each spouse’s age and health;
- a custodial parent’s need to occupy or own the marital residence, and the loss of inheritance and pension rights and health insurance benefits on divorce;
- direct and indirect contributions, including as a spouse, parent, wage earner and homemaker, and to the other spouse’s career;
- how liquid the assets are, each spouse’s probable future financial circumstances, tax consequences, and any maintenance award;
- the difficulty of valuing a business or professional interest, and the desirability of keeping it intact;
- wasteful dissipation, transfers in contemplation of divorce without fair consideration, domestic violence, a companion animal’s best interest, and any other factor the court expressly finds just and proper.
When distributing an asset such as a business interest would be impractical or burdensome, the court makes a distributive award instead, typically a payment from the spouse who keeps the business (§ 236(B)(5)(e)). Where appropriate, the court must also consider how a barrier to religious remarriage, such as a Get that is being withheld, affects these factors (§ 236(B)(5)(h)); see Jewish divorce and the Get and our guide to equitable distribution.
Licenses, degrees and enhanced earning capacity
Since January 2016, the court “shall not consider as marital property subject to distribution the value of a spouse’s enhanced earning capacity arising from a license, degree, celebrity goodwill, or career enhancement” (DRL § 236(B)(5)(d)(7)). When dividing the marital property, the court must still consider each spouse’s contributions during the marriage to developing the other spouse’s enhanced earning capacity.
Valuation dates for active and passive assets
The court sets the date or dates for valuing each asset, anywhere from the start of the action to trial (DRL § 236(B)(4)(b)). Active assets, whose value depends on a spouse’s efforts, such as a business or professional practice, are generally valued as of commencement (Halley v. Craven, 236 A.D.3d 512 (1st Dep’t 2025)). Passive assets that move with the market, such as securities, may be valued at trial (Lieberman-Massoni v. Massoni, 215 A.D.3d 656 (2d Dep’t 2023)).
Business valuation, forensic accounting and tracing
Valuing a closely held business or practice usually requires a valuation professional who reviews tax returns, financial statements, owner compensation and personal expenses paid by the business. Each side may retain its own expert, and the court may appoint an accountant, appraiser, actuary or other expert, with the cost paid as the court directs (22 NYCRR 202.18). Forensic accountants also reconstruct income when reported income does not match the household’s spending. See protecting your business in divorce and cryptocurrency and divorce.
Expect to gather three years of personal and business tax returns; bank, brokerage, retirement and cryptocurrency statements; business financial statements and loan applications; and deeds, trust documents and any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
Financial disclosure and automatic orders
Financial disclosure is compulsory. Each spouse provides a sworn statement of net worth listing all income and assets, wherever located, and assets transferred during the past three years (or the length of the marriage, if shorter), with a recent pay stub and tax returns (DRL § 236(B)(4)(a); 22 NYCRR 202.16(b)). Before the preliminary conference, the parties also exchange three years of tax returns, including returns of partnerships and closely held corporations, and three years of account statements (22 NYCRR 202.16(f)).
Automatic orders bind the plaintiff on filing and the defendant on service (DRL § 236(B)(2)(b); 22 NYCRR 202.16-a). Neither spouse may transfer, encumber or conceal property except in the usual course of business, for customary household expenses or for reasonable legal fees; move or withdraw retirement assets; incur unreasonable debt; or let existing insurance lapse or change life insurance beneficiaries. Failure to obey may be deemed a contempt of court. See our guide to automatic orders.
Counsel fees for the less-monied spouse
DRL § 237(a) creates “a rebuttable presumption that counsel fees shall be awarded to the less monied spouse,” and the court may direct the other spouse to pay counsel and expert fees directly to the attorney. Fees are to be awarded on a timely basis while the case is pending so that each side is adequately represented, which can include funding a forensic accountant or appraiser.
Support above the statutory caps
The child support formula applies to combined parental income up to $193,000, and the maintenance formula to the payor’s income up to $241,000 (both effective March 1, 2026). Above those figures, the court has discretion guided by statutory factors and must explain its reasoning. See child support above the cap, maintenance above the cap and our child support and maintenance page.
Enforcing or challenging a prenup or postnup
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is valid in a divorce if it is in writing, subscribed by the parties and acknowledged in the manner required to record a deed; maintenance terms must have been fair and reasonable when made and not unconscionable at judgment (DRL § 236(B)(3)). Because agreements between spouses involve a fiduciary relationship requiring the utmost good faith, a court may set one aside for fraud, duress, or overreaching that results in manifest unfairness (Christian v. Christian, 42 N.Y.2d 63 (1977)). We handle both enforcement and challenges; see prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements.
Confidentiality of matrimonial records
Pleadings, affidavits, findings, the judgment and testimony in a New York matrimonial action are available only to the parties and their lawyers unless a court orders otherwise. The public can obtain only a certificate of disposition, and the court may close testimony when the public interest requires it (DRL § 235). We treat your financial and personal information with the same discretion.
What to expect, step by step
- Consultation. By phone or video, after you complete our online intake.
- Filing or responding. The case is filed in the Supreme Court, and the automatic orders take effect.
- Preliminary conference. Statements of net worth and core documents are exchanged, and the court sets a discovery schedule.
- Temporary relief and discovery. Applications for temporary support or counsel fees; document demands, depositions and expert reports.
- Settlement or trial. A written settlement agreement or a trial, then the judgment of divorce.
Joel Yacoob is admitted in New York and New Jersey; this page describes New York law. To discuss your matter with him, start your case online or call (718) 975-1123.