New Jersey divorce attorney Carrie Schultz joined the Good Neighbor Podcast to discuss fathers’ rights, custody bias, and what men facing divorce actually need to know.
Key Takeaways: - New Jersey law gives neither parent an automatic custody advantage.
- Early legal counsel is the key that enables men to be able to protect their kids, finances, and future.
- One conversation with an attorney beats hours of online research, because men facing divorce need strategy, not just legal information.
Your marriage is ending. You don’t know where you stand with your kids. You don’t know what you’re about to lose or what you might actually be able to keep. That’s the moment most men start searching. And too often, what they find is generic legal content written for nobody in particular. Attorney Carrie Schultz of Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers recently sat down with Doug Drohan on the Good Neighbor Podcast to cut through that noise. What followed was one of the most direct, honest conversations about New Jersey divorce law you’ll find in under 30 minutes.
Listen to the Episode
You can listen to the full episode on Buzzsprout by
clicking this link. It’s worth your time. But if you want the highlights first, keep reading.
The Firm That Doesn’t Try to Be Everything
Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers is not a general family law firm. We are a New Jersey matrimonial law practice built specifically for men and fathers navigating divorce, custody disputes, and child support matters. Carrie addressed this head-on in the episode: “We’ve niched the business to help men and fathers. We found that sometimes there’s not a place where they feel comfortable, somewhere they can go to have somebody really
understand what’s happening and what to expect.” That’s the gap the firm exists to close. Not revenge law, not hand-holding, but actual strategy from attorneys who understand both the technical side of New Jersey family law and the emotional weight of what their clients are going through.
What Most Fathers Get Wrong About Custody
One of the most valuable moments in the episode came when Carrie addressed a belief that derails many men before they even get started: the assumption that they’ve already lost. They haven’t. As Carrie explained, New Jersey law states that neither party has a greater entitlement to the children than the other. There’s no automatic preference for mothers baked into the statute. The Kramer vs. Kramer era is over… at least, on paper. That doesn’t mean bias is gone entirely. Carrie was direct about that too: “I’m not gonna sit here and lie and say I don’t also live in the real world, and there are still some biases and optics.” But those are
navigable obstacles, not a predetermined outcome. And understanding the difference is the starting point for building a real strategy.
Divorce vs. Family Court in New Jersey: Why the Distinction Matters
Most people use “divorce” and “family law” interchangeably. In New Jersey, they’re not the same track. Carrie explained that the court system here runs on two parallel paths:
- Married couples dissolving a marriage go through the divorce process
- Unmarried couples dealing with custody or child support disputes go through family court
If you and your co-parent were never married, you’re not filing for divorce — but you may still need a family law attorney to address custody arrangements, parenting time, and support. Knowing which track applies to your situation matters before you take any next step.
Custody Schedules Aren’t One Size Fits All
A brand-new custody statute hit New Jersey right around the time Carrie recorded this episode. She didn’t sugarcoat it: “It’s causing havoc in our industry. It’s contradictory; everyone’s trying to figure out what it means, and judges are confused.” What that means in practice is that the law is in flux, and leaning on what you read online or what your friend’s divorce looked like three years ago is a bad strategy right now. What Carrie stressed, and what comes through clearly in her firm’s approach, is that custody arrangements have to be built around the specific family in front of you. She’s seen:
- Week-on, week-off schedules
- Midweek exchanges built around school and work
- One parent taking one child, the other parent taking the other
- Arrangements that flip depending on the season or school calendar
None of those are inherently right or wrong. The question is what actually helps the children thrive and what a judge will actually sign off on, given everything on the table.
The Line Carrie Won’t Cross
Carrie made one thing clear in the episode that doesn’t show up in most law firm content: she turns cases away. If a prospective client wants to use the children as leverage, she’s out. “We don’t do revenge law,” she said. “If someone comes in and says I’m going to get him or her back and I’m gonna use the kids to do it, we’re out.” That’s a business decision, sure. But it’s also a signal about how the firm operates. Men who come to Schultz & Associates are there to protect what matters to them: their time with their kids, their financial future, and their ability to build something on the other side of this. That’s a fundamentally different approach than showing up to a fight for its own sake.
COVID Made Things Worse for a Lot of Marriages
Drohan asked Carrie whether the pandemic was actually good for the divorce law business. The answer was honest and a little uncomfortable: yes. The firm grew 40 percent during COVID. Domestic violence cases climbed. And Carrie’s explanation wasn’t that people suddenly started hating each other, but rather that the pandemic removed all the distractions people had been hiding behind. Work, schedules, routines. When all of that disappeared, couples had to face whatever had been building underneath. As she put it: “You can evade reality, but you can never evade the consequences of reality.” For a lot of marriages, COVID was the moment the consequences finally arrived.
How Carrie Got Here
Carrie didn’t set out to focus on men’s rights. She launched Schultz & Associates in 2018 after years at other firms, including time working alongside one of the more prominent matrimonial attorneys in the Morris/Sussex area and another in Bergen County. The pivot toward men and fathers came from something personal. She grew up as the child of an acrimonious divorce. She was estranged from her father. Years later, she found the actual divorce papers and realized that what she’d been told growing up didn’t match what was on the page. “This could have been done better,” she said. “So how can I do it better?” That’s not a marketing line. It’s the actual reason the firm exists.
About Carrie Schultz
Carrie S. Schultz is the founder and managing attorney of Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers by Schultz & Associates. Based in Hackensack, NJ and situated directly across from the Bergen County courthouse, the firm represents men throughout New Jersey in divorce, child custody, and family law matters. Carrie is also the author of
What to Expect During Divorce: The Men’s Edition, a practical guide written specifically for the men who walk through her door. Her team operates on full transparency, fast communication, and a process built to keep clients from burning through legal fees on the basics. The intake experience is designed to get you to strategy quickly, not to keep you waiting.
Why Schultz & Associates Handles What Other Firms Don’t
Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers is built around a specific client with specific needs. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Focused representation — Every case involves a man or father navigating New Jersey family law; there’s no generalist catch-all approach here.
- Process-driven communication — A dedicated director of client engagement handles your backstory before you ever hit the legal team, so your attorney time goes directly toward strategy.
- Real-world expectations — Carrie talks both technically and practically; you’ll know what the law says and what actually happens in Bergen County courtrooms.
- A firm that says no when it should — If your goal isn’t to come out of this in a better position, this isn’t the right fit.
- Remote-friendly — Initial case evaluations and ongoing work are handled via Zoom, phone, and email; there’s no requirement to drive to Hackensack for every step.
The first step is a case evaluation with the firm’s director of client engagement. There’s a refundable seat deposit to hold your spot.
Ready to Talk?
If you listened to the episode and something clicked, or if you’re in the middle of a situation that feels like it’s moving without you, a conversation is the right next move. You’re not committing to anything by calling. You’re just getting educated, and that’s exactly what Carrie recommends.
Book your case evaluation today. 
