Collaborative Law

A better way . . .

Collaborative Law is a relatively new method of handling divorce and other family law cases. In fact, Collaborative Law is quickly becoming a preferred method of resolving other legal matters as well. Many Denton County divorce lawyers, including those at our firm, are committed to educating potential divorce and family law clients about collaborative law and how a collaborative divorce may well be the right choice for them.

What is Collaborative Law?

Collaborative Law in the family law area is a process in which the parties, the husband and wife in a divorce case, or the mother and father in other family law cases (child custody, child support, modification, paternity and so on) and their respective lawyers, agree to resolve their differences without involving the Court. This is done by both parties candidly sharing all of the information needed to resolve their pending issues and agreeing to sit down together, with their lawyers, and work out their differences. The collaborative law method is a very positive, private way of making the transition from being married to being single.

Clients sometimes choose to involve other professionals, like communication specialists and financial experts, to assist them in their divorce cases. By using collaborative divorce, the clients can agree on whom to use and avoid the added expense of duplicating, or competing experts. By using experts, who are often more knowledgeable in their specific fields and less expensive than the collaborative lawyers involved, the parties can save money and make better use of their resources than is often possible in the litigation or trial approach.

Why Collaborative Law?

For those who choose Collaborative Law, the answers to this question are limitless. Many choose it because they don't care to air their differences in a public forum. Others choose Collaborative Law because, while they have decided to get a divorce, they don't necessary feel like adversaries; they simply need competent family attorneys, trained in collaborative law, to help them divide their community assets in a fair and equitable manner and make decisions for their children's best interests. Some choose Collaborative Law because it allows the parties to make their own choices about how their family issues are resolved rather than relying on the Judge to do it for them, someone not even familiar with their situation.

In some cases, Collaborative Law can result in a financial savings to both parties.

Perhaps most importantly, people are choosing Collaborative Law because of the "relational" savings. This means that, by choosing to work together to finalize their divorce, and choosing not to go through the Courtroom battle we have all become familiar with, parties are able to conclude their divorce while maintaining any positive relationship they still have left.

At our office, we have the training and commitment to make your Collaborative Law case work for you. Duane L. Coker is a charter member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas and the Denton County Collaborative Professionals and has handled numerous Collaborative cases from start to finish. Other attorneys at our firm also have collaborative training and have handled collaborative divorce and family law cases. Most importantly, we truly believe that collaborative law is the best way for parties in divorce and family law cases to resolve their differences. While we still remain willing and able to handle your litigated matters, we are also willing to take the extra time to talk to you about this new, exciting way to resolve your matter.

If you are interested in finding out more about Collaborative Law, please contact our office. You may also visit the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas, an organization dedicated to informing people how to resolve their disputes with dignity.

If you're interested in finding out more about Collaborative Law, here are a couple books our office recommends regularly to clients. The first two are about Collaborative Law and the third is a well known book about interest-based negotiation, as developed by the Harvard Negotiation Project: