NJ divorce accountantAsset tracing, income and support analysis
Your attorney and the court work from three answers in a New Jersey divorce: what each spouse earns, which assets are marital, and what they are worth. As your NJ divorce accountant, Wasserman Accounting CPAs traces the assets, establishes the income, and prepares the financial side of your case with your family-law attorney, through settlement or trial. Call 609-281-8096.
- What each spouse earns
- Which assets are marital
- What they are worth
How an NJ divorce accountant helps your case
We trace marital assets and income, including accounts and cash a spouse has not disclosed.
We analyze income and lifestyle for alimony and child support, prepare the Case Information Statement, and project the tax cost of the settlement.
We work alongside your family-law attorney from discovery through settlement, mediation, or trial.
When do you need a divorce accountant in NJ?
- A spouse owns a business that has to be valued
- You suspect hidden income or assets
- You and your spouse disagree on income, and the court will set alimony or child support from it
- You or your spouse hold stock options, restricted stock, deferred compensation, a pension, or real estate
What does a divorce accountant do in NJ?
- 01 / 06
Asset and income tracing, including concealed accounts
- 02 / 06
Income and marital lifestyle analysis for alimony and child support
- 03 / 06
Separating marital property from premarital, inherited, and gifted property
- 04 / 06
Case Information Statement (CIS) preparation
- 05 / 06
Tax projections for the settlement
- 06 / 06
Reports and exhibits for settlement, mediation, or trial, prepared with your attorney
The figures your attorney negotiates from start with us.
New Jersey divorce rules for property, alimony, and support
5 rules. Open the one that applies to you.
01Equitable distribution
New Jersey courts divide marital property fairly, which is not always equally.
02Active and passive appreciation
A court can treat growth in a premarital or inherited asset as marital if the other spouse contributed to it. A court can count running the household while the owner built the asset as a contribution. A court treats growth from the owner’s efforts alone, or from market movement alone, as separate (Valentino v. Valentino, 309 N.J. Super. 334 (App. Div. 1998)).
Valentino v. Valentino, 309 N.J. Super. 334 (App. Div. 1998)
03Alimony duration
For a marriage or civil union of less than 20 years, a court cannot award alimony for longer than the length of the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(c)). At 20 years or more, a court can award open durational alimony.
N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(c)
04Retirement
For alimony set after September 10, 2014, the court presumes the paying spouse can stop paying at full Social Security retirement age, and the recipient can rebut that (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(j)(1)). For an order or agreement from before that date, the court treats full retirement age as a good-faith retirement age (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(j)(3)). The paying spouse must still show why the court should end alimony.
N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(j)
05Pendente lite support
Temporary support a court orders while the case is pending.
What is in a New Jersey Case Information Statement?
Each spouse files a Case Information Statement on form CN 10482 within 20 days after the answer or appearance is filed (R. 5:5-2). On the CIS you list your income, monthly budget, assets, and debts, and you attach the documents shown on the form.
The court and your spouse’s attorney work from the CIS for the rest of the case, and a court can dismiss the pleadings of a party who does not file one.
We prepare the CIS with you and reconcile it to your records before you file it.
Attach
- Your last federal and state income tax returns, with all schedules
- Your last calendar year's W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s
- Your three most recent pay stubs
- A child support guidelines worksheet, where child support is at issue
Child support income for a self-employed parent in NJ
$187,200
The court applies New Jersey’s child support guidelines to the parents’ combined net income up to $187,200 a year, as of 2026 (R. 5:6A and Appendix IX-A). For income over that level, the court adds a discretionary amount.
For a self-employed parent, taxable income on the return can be lower than the income available for support. We rebuild income from the business records and add back:
- Personal expenses paid through the business, such as cars, phones, meals, and travel
- Wages paid to family members who do not work in the business
- Cash receipts missing from the bank deposits
- Profit left in the business to lower reported income
We document each adjustment so your attorney can defend it at the support hearing.
Self-employed, or divorcing someone who is? Start with the income.
Get the income analysis startedWhat are the tax consequences of a divorce settlement in NJ?
New Jersey taxes alimony and allows the payer a deduction; for an agreement signed after December 31, 2018, the IRS does neither.
| $30,000 alimony, agreement signed in 2026 | Federal | New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| Payer | No deduction | Deducts $30,000 |
| Recipient | Not taxable | Reports $30,000 as income |
The payer cannot deduct payments made outside the divorce decree or separation agreement.
A recipient with no New Jersey tax withheld from alimony may need to file a new NJ-W-4 or make estimated payments to avoid an underpayment penalty.
Before the agreement is signed, we also work out:
- Which parent claims the children for the child tax credit and head of household status
- Whether the 401(k), pension, or IRA division is set up as a tax-free transfer
- The capital gain exposure if one spouse keeps the house and sells it later
- Each spouse's tax for the first year filing separately
Who we work with in NJ divorce cases
- Divorcing spouses who need the financial picture established before settlement talks
- Family-law attorneys who need a financial expert on a case
- Both spouses together, retaining one neutral accountant in mediation or a collaborative divorce
- Former spouses in a post-judgment dispute over alimony or child support
How we price divorce accounting in NJ
- 1The number of accounts, properties, and businesses in the marital estate
- 2Whether a spouse owns a business whose records we have to rebuild
- 3Whether we have to reconstruct income from bank records
- 4Whether you settle or go to trial
- 5The court's deadlines, including the CIS due date
We scope the work in writing after reviewing the Case Information Statements or the documents you already hold.
Reviewed by
April Moore, EA, Practice Manager at Wasserman Accounting CPAs. Enrolled Agent with 20 years in individual and business tax, tax planning, and IRS and state resolutions.
Talk to an NJ divorce accountant
If you or your spouse own a business, support is contested, or you suspect hidden assets, we can trace the money, establish the income, and prepare the figures your attorney works from. A CPA or EA answers — not a call center.