Born: New York, N.Y.

Admitted: 1992, New York and New Jersey

Education: Pace University, J.D., 1992, Union College, B.A., English, 1989; Certificate in Construction Management from NYU, June 2011; FINRA Securities Industry Essentials Exam, February 2021

Practice Areas: As a Certified Matrimonial Attorney, Ms. Helfand handles all areas of family law including but not limited to custody, alimony, child support, complex financial cases, prenuptial agreements and domestic violence matters. Tanya Helfand is a qualified mediator and certified collaborative divorce lawyer. She also handles guardianships and consumer and small business bankruptcies, Chapter 7 & 13.

Membership: Morris County Bar Association, Essex County Bar Association and New Jersey State Bar Association.

Experience: Tanya represents both men and women zealously in family law matters. She has experience working with individuals in real estate, the entertainment industry, bankers, stock brokers, attorney, physicians and manufacturers.

Biography: With 28 years of legal experience, Ms. Helfand focuses her practice in the area of Family Law. Ms. Helfand is a Certified Matrimonial Attorney. Ms. Helfand has successfully represented both men and women with complex custody and financial matters through negotiation as well as trial through conclusion. Settlement is best, but sometimes pursuing the matter in Court is necessary. Ms. Helfand is on the Superior Court’s Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel in Morris and Essex Counties. In this capacity, she has successfully provided settlement recommendations to couples who have been litigating for an extended period of time, (often over a year). She is also referred by the Courts as an economic mediator. She was a member of the Matrimonial Inn of Court in Northern New Jersey. She is direct and practical, and will always try to negotiate or mediate your matter first to resolve the case amicably; however, if you cannot obtain a fair and reasonable settlement outside of Court, Ms. Helfand and her staff are prepared to properly defend you through the conclusion of the matter.

Ms. Helfand handles bankruptcy matters including Chapter 7 & 13. She handles adversary proceedings in Bankruptcy Court relative to divorce matters. Ms. Helfand was a member of the Bankruptcy Inn of Court in Northern New Jersey. Ms. Helfand also handles guardianships. For several years, the Morris County Surrogate has appointed Ms. Helfand as independent counsel in guardianship matters, performing investigations and representing the incompetent individual.

Ms. Helfand has an extensive business background, which is extremely helpful with all the areas of her practice. Prior to opening her office, she owned retail businesses and has helped many professionals with their practices.

Ms. Helfand is on the Board of the Jewish Law Symposium. She is an active supporter of Jewish Family Services and the Rachel Coalition. She won the Brava Award for Top Female CEOs in 2016, and the 2020 25 Leading Women in Business in New Jersey. She has also been nominated and selected to SuperLawyers for the last five years in a row. She is also an author. She speaks on the subjects of divorce and Bankruptcy throughout New Jersey. She wrote a weekly column for Desi Talk, a newspaper focusing on the Asian community. She is on the Essex County District VC Fee Arbitration Committee.

Representative Matters:

  • Successfully helped spouses overcome significant obstacles in disagreements over parenting plans as well as the division of valuable property, including real estate, investments, and business assets.
  • Represented a professional entertainer with a fixed alimony agreement who lost one of his main contracts. Succeeded in getting ex-wife’s alimony modified to a percentage of his income, which was primarily derived from multiple short-term contracts.
  • Represented former professional football player who moved to New Jersey with his wife and child. The wife, who was also pregnant, visited her mother in another state and refused to return to New Jersey with the child. The wife was ordered by the court to return to New Jersey.
  • In an appellate division matter, modified a “non-modifiable” alimony agreement when husband lost his job after age 60. Client was depleting his retirement assets to meet his obligation. Successfully had the alimony significantly reduced.
  • Prevented an intrastate move whereby the mother tried to remove her young children from school and relocate 60 miles away against the father’s wishes.
  • Represented wife whose husband refused to reasonably contribute to college costs for their three daughters. Husband was well positioned to do so; he possessed a graduate degree and earned $400,000 annually. The court set aside his retirement account which was ultimately used to pay for the children’s education.
  • Successfully maintained child custody for wife and instituted supervised time for husband with a substance abuse issue.
  • Represented a police officer whose wife charged him with domestic violence. Her claims were determined to be false, designed to manipulate custody of the children. We were able to resolve the issue with civil restraints, a common method of helping parties move forward. Parenting time was not affected, nor was his job, which would have been in jeopardy due to the domestic violence charges.
  • Represented a woman, a successful executive, whose husband was a chronic alcoholic and physically harmed her repeatedly. Although she was embarrassed, due to her status, to bring the case before the court, we tried it to a successful conclusion and obtained for her a final restraining order.