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Divorce: The Dentist’s Guide for Sustaining and Surviving His or Her Personal and Professional Life by Bruce Bryen, CPA

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One of the least likely professions to bear the brunt of lawsuits in our country today is dentistry. It is so rare for dentists to be sued that it is difficult to know what to do when a complaint is served upon one. Experience has shown that the litigation is not normally from patients for the most part, but from associates, employees, partners or some other source that does not involve a malpractice claim. One of the most frequent origins of litigation comes from the personal side of the life of the dentist, namely, a divorce proceeding. Because of the rarity of suits involving dentists, it is typically difficult for them to find professionals who have experience and expertise in their representation regarding this particular issue. Attorneys, experts in the valuation of companies such as those in the manufacturing sector, and other advisors who have the expertise to defend businesses in general, many times do not understand the dental practice valuation and its methodology for presentation to the courts. When the complaint is served by the spouse seeking the divorce, professionals must be found to answer the points raised in the summons that was served upon the dentist and to assist in the defense of the case using the most favorable presentation methods possible. Those who perform these services as a livelihood are the experts to seek. The first questions asked by the dentist usually involve how and where to begin.

How to Find Experts
Since it is such an unusual occurrence to find someone with experience in representing dentists, the attorney who is chosen should be an expert in divorce and matrimonial law and, if possible, also have some experience in representing dentists. It also helps if he or she has an understanding of tax law. If the attorney does not have experience with the representation of dentists, he or she should at least have divorce representation as his or her specialty. It is surprising that many dentists will retain their friends who are attorneys with specialties in real estate, personal injury or some other field because they agree to trade bills for dental work or will work “for free when time allows,” because they are friends. Since the dental practice is probably the dentist’s most valuable asset, this “trade off ” concept is not recommended and typically results in thousands of dollars lost with a judge’s decision because of the attorney’s lack of expertise in the dental world.

From a practical approach, the choice should be someone who understands what the dentist does not understand, which is the fact that he or she possesses little knowledge about the financial aspects of the world of dentistry regarding the generation of income and the methods used for the establishment of the value of the dental practice. The hope that this attorney does not have an ego problem and will acknowledge his or her need to retain an expert to assist in the litigation is of paramount importance. The attorney might have his or her own sources to obtain the expert based on prior litigation involving owners of businesses whom he or she has represented. The attorney might not grasp that the expert business evaluator may have very little understanding in evaluating a dental practice. One idea that he or she might agree to is to speak to the client to learn who has represented the dentist regarding the financial matters that he or she has been involved with throughout his or her career. If the attorney understands that the valuation of a dental practice is quite different than assessing the value of any other type of business, then a good discussion may take place between the dentist and his or her existing advisors. Since the attorney’s defense of the value of the personal assets of the dentist will include the dental practice, the choice of the supporting expert for the dental practice valuation is a must. The attorney and the dentist might agree to have each do some research to find the expert to assist the attorney and then review their results together prior to the selection of the expert.

The Search for the Expert to Assist the Attorney
The first thought for the dentist might be to go to the CPA from whom advice has been received historically regarding the personal and dental practice finances. That might be a good starting point, but it is an unusual CPA who has also had experience in evaluating a dental practice, let alone preparing a valuation for the purpose of a divorce proceeding. There are many questions to ask the CPA to find out his or her qualifications before deciding that the dentist has the proper financial person for representation in preparing and defending the valuation of the dental practice. At how many trials has the CPA testified involving dentists and the support of value for the dental practice? How many dental practice valuations has the CPA prepared? Does the evaluator know the difference between the goodwill of the dental practice allocated to marital versus non-marital status? This point alone can mean the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars to the prevailing party at the conclusion of the trial. How many articles has the CPA published to support the credentials necessary to present to the court? How many dental practices has the CPA sold? These are some but not all of the questions to ask to support the theory that the best has been chosen for assistance during this traumatic experience. If the answers to these questions are not satisfactory, the dentist may request assistance from the dental supply representative for a name to interview. Dental supply representatives are good contact sources, not for the preparation of the appraisal, but for finding experts in valuation preparations. They have so many contacts in their field that they are a good reference point for these referrals since they see so many dentists on a day-to-day basis. They are also prone to listen to the dentist’s life stories because they become so familiar with the dentist because of their constant contact and intimacy regarding the dentist’s life events. The interviews, time expended and research into the questions to ask and answers to understand take an enormous toll on the dentist while the process of choosing the right person for representation is taking place. The money involved that must be spent on advisory services is also substantial while the search is ongoing to find the proper representation. The experience is not a good one.

Continuing the Process
From the description in the previous paragraph, one can see that an enormous amount of time is taken in the early stages of the process of attempting to find someone who can present the dentist’s case. These interviews, meetings and the overall efforts are a drain on the emotions as well as the finances of the dentist. The time involved also detracts from the time available to practice dentistry at the office. Continuing education courses are put on hold. Patient appointments are postponed. The acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment may be stopped as well, while this situation continues because of the lack of time available to study proposals to acquire these assets and to see if they fit the dental practice needs.

The personal and professional life of the dentist is in a state of flux. This is also only the beginning of what is to come. Once the expert is chosen to work with the attorney, then the complaint is addressed. The exchange of interrogatories takes place whereby the dentist and former spouse must answer questions posed to them that require an enormous amount of energy and time. Documentation must be found to substantiate assets acquired and liabilities incurred for proof of net worth and income. The dentist must maintain a clear state of mind or the personal and dental practice’s financial status may deteriorate. The professional atmosphere may erode as well.

This is such a difficult time that the dentist should try to be as reasonable as possible and see if a settlement can take place so that the continuance of the effort can cease. It is a good idea to have advisors who are honest in their approach and who want a settlement, rather than a trial. The only reason to go to court is if the settlement offers are so far apart that there is no chance for a fair resolution. Advisors who emphasize the use of court, rather than settlement are those with whom the dentist should be wary. The reasonable attitude and understanding of the cost of the trial compared to a settlement is something that should always be in the forefront of thinking. The dentist has to consider what the assets are worth and how much income is actually being earned. If the dentist is honest about these items, then a clear understanding of the division of these assets and income, while not easy to digest, is at least realistic. If a dentist has historically been reporting income of $250,000 per year, for an example, the offer of an amount to pay as if the income was $100,000 will never be accepted. On the other hand, if the offer of an income split based on the actual $250,000 is offered and the spouse feels that the income split should be based on $350,000, then a trial will probably result in the only method to arrive at an unprejudiced conclusion of what the division of the income must be. Of course, the asset value will also be affected by the income level being negotiated.

How to Continue Living While Time is at a Premium
Assuming that the most satisfactory choices of experts are available and retained, the best advice is to allow these people to work on the case and to interfere as little as possible with the proceedings. Continuing the practice as if nothing extraordinary is occurring might sound impossible, but it is the best advice that can be given. No matter what the outcome of the case, the dental practice will be the source of the continued existence in a manner as close to what was previously taking place as possible, if the dentist can have sanity maintained and not lose the image previously presented to the public from the dental practice. The dentist has to consider an example whereby he or she has referred a patient to a specialist because the case might be outside the norm for his or her expertise.Would constant calling be taking place questioning the specialist’s approach? Would micromanaging of the patient’s file be part of the day-to-day routine? The divorce affects the dentist directly and if the available experts are employed for the best presentation possible, then the most favorable result will occur. The careful choice of the expert dental practice evaluator, the attorney with expertise in divorce and matrimonial law and the ability to continue working as if nothing is happening out of the ordinary will assure that the final decision will be the best it can be.
Author's Bio
Bruce Bryen is a certified public accountant with more than 40 years of experience. Mr. Bryen is also the managing partner of the accounting firm, Bryen & Bryen LLP, which is based in southern New Jersey. He specializes in deferred compensation, such as retirement planning design; income and estate tax planning; determination of the proper organizational business structure; and asset protection and structuring loan packages for presentation to financial institutions. He also served as chairman of the board of a regional bank. Mr. Bryen is experienced in providing litigation support services to dentists with expert witness testimony in matrimonial disputes cases. He is also a financial writer for several dental magazines. You may contact Bruce Bryen, CPA, at 856-985-8550, extension 112. His Web site is Bryen-BryenLLP.com.
Dentaltown Magazine
October 2025
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