Polina M. Dostalik, Esq.

With more than 15 years of experience, Polina is a trusted and dedicated family and matrimonial law attorney known for guiding clients through some of life’s most challenging transitions with clarity, compassion, and strategic insight. She believes that effective representation begins with a strong attorney-client partnership, ensuring that her clients understand every step of the legal process and its potential impact on their lives and families.

Practice Areas

Practicing in both New Jersey and New York, Polina represents clients in all phases of matrimonial and family law matters, including litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Her practice encompasses a wide range of issues such as:

• Divorce;
• Equitable distribution;
• Alimony and spousal support;
• Child custody and parenting time;
• Child support;
• Paternity and parental rights;
• Grandparents’ rights;
• Marital, separation, and property settlement agreements;
• Dissolution of civil unions and domestic partnerships;
• Palimony;
• Post-judgment enforcement or modifications; and
• Domestic violence restraining orders.

In addition, Polina is highly skilled in negotiating and drafting comprehensive pre-nuptial, post-nuptial, and cohabitation agreements, tailored to protect her clients’ interests with foresight and legal precision.

Serving Russian and Eastern European Communities

As a Russian-speaking attorney, Polina is uniquely positioned to serve clients from the Russian and Eastern European communities across New Jersey and New York. Her cultural fluency and language skills enable her to build trust with clients, explain legal concepts clearly in their native language, and effectively represent them in both routine and high-stakes matters.

International and Interstate Family Law Experience

Polina also has deep experience in international and interstate family law, including matters involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She has successfully handled cross-border custody and support disputes, parental child abduction cases, and multi-jurisdictional family law agreements, applying her knowledge of international treaty law and enforcement mechanisms with precision and care.

Approach and Advocacy

She is a strong and zealous courtroom advocate and a creative and skilled negotiator, always tailoring her approach to the client’s goals while remaining sensitive to the emotional dynamics of family law. Polina brings meticulous preparation and unwavering commitment to every case. She is especially attuned to the emotional complexity of family law and approaches each matter with sensitivity and professionalism.

Prior Experience

Prior to joining Ziegler Law Group LLC, Polina honed her litigation skills as an associate at Bressler, Amery, and Ross, P.C. While there, Polina practiced in areas of family law, securities, and commercial litigation. Her background in securities and commercial litigation further strengthens her ability to manage complex equitable distribution and business valuation issues in high-net-worth divorce cases.

Education and Service

A magna cum laude graduate of New York Law School, Polina served as an Executive Editor of the New York Law School Law Review, where her published note explored the legal implications of embryo adoption. As a student advocate with the NYLS Domestic Violence Project, she represented survivors of domestic violence in New York family courts. Since 2010, she has volunteered with the Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project in New Jersey.

Polina earned her undergraduate degree with high honors in English and Political Science from Rutgers University. She is fluent in Russian, and often assists international clients or Russian-speaking individuals seeking trustworthy and culturally competent legal representation.

Outside the Office

While not practicing law, Polina enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She is an avid skier, hiker, and beachgoer.

In family law, success is not measured only by verdicts, but by helping clients build stronger futures.