McKinney Collaborative Divorce Lawyer
Out-of-Court Solutions for Divorce in Collin, Denton, & Dallas Counties, TX
It’s common knowledge that divorce is often stressful and highly emotional. Many decisions about your life and future will involve your children, finances, property and assets, and other details. The impact of these decisions can be long-lasting and life changing.
Most people associate divorce with court litigation, especially over child custody and the division of marital property and debt. These can be contentious matters, but they don’t have to become a war zone. An alternative route exists to the traditional court process. This alternative is collaborative divorce, a method Petitt Family Law has offered and successfully used for years.
This is a process where you and your spouse and your respective lawyers work together to reach a mutually beneficial agreement outside of court, in a private space, on your schedule instead of a court’s. The primary objective is to minimize conflict and promote respectful communication, making it easier for everyone involved, especially for children who might be affected.
Want to learn more? Contact us online or at (469) 716-6893 to schedule a consultation with our McKinney collaborative divorce attorney.
Overview of the Collaborative Divorce Process
In a collaborative divorce, couples agree to negotiate in good faith, share information honestly, and work towards a fair settlement, considering all family members’ welfare. Every party has a voice, and every concern is considered. The lawyers representing each party must also adhere to specific guidelines prioritizing collaboration over confrontation.
Couples and lawyers sign a "no court" agreement during this process. This agreement means that if the collaborative process does not result in a settlement, the lawyers will withdraw from the case, and the couple will be required to hire new representation for court litigation. This stipulation motivates everyone to commit fully to finding a resolution within the collaborative process.
The process can include outside experts giving you critical information needed to come to settlement terms. These experts can include child specialists, tax consultants, accountants, appraisers, business valuation professionals, and others as needed.
While the process is conducted outside of court, you still benefit from legal representation. Your lawyer will not engage in hostile behavior towards the other side. Their role is to protect your rights and interests while seeking optimum ways to resolve all issues fairly and equitably.
The success of the process depends on the commitment of both parties. If the process fails, you and your spouse must proceed through court litigation, starting the cycle anew with a different attorneys.
Benefits of Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative divorce has many benefits over traditional litigation.
These include:
- Avoiding adversarial court battles reduces the emotional pain, heartache, and high stress associated with divorce.
- Reduces the time and expense of divorce because it is independent of the court process.
- Provides more privacy as it involves only the marital partners and their lawyers and is not achieved in the public arena of the family court.
- Generally, shields children from the stress of divorce because it does not involve aggressive courtroom trial behavior.
- Fosters a more harmonious post-divorce relationship between parties, which is particularly beneficial when children must be co-parented.
- Allow customized solutions catering to your family's unique needs and circumstances.
- Allows you and the other party to remain in control of crucial decisions instead of being subjected to the dictates of a judge.
Hear From Our Happy Clients
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"Amazing results. My only regret is not hiring her initially several years ago."
Melody exemplifies everything that I needed in an attorney. She followed through on every aspect of what she said she would do. Along the way, she always kept my interests in mind when following up with the courts and giving me closure. All this in just a few short weeks before closing out the 2020 year during a pandemic.
In my previous experiences, I’ve always had to chase down my attorney or come up with the solutions on my own. Melody was the exact opposite of that. Replies were very timely, and she came up with solutions prior to discussing with me with any setbacks that would come up.
My only regret is not hiring her initially several years ago.
- Anonymous -
"Thank you so much for all of your help! I’m happy I had such an amazing team in my corner!"Thank you so much for all of your help! You and your team have been great and a huge help in aiding me to navigate through those difficult times. I’m glad it is finally over and I’m happy I had such an amazing team in my corner!- Ben
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"Simply the best lawyer I have ever had."Simply the best lawyer I have ever had. I have had the pleasure of having her work on my case for a year. She is full of information and guidance. She is not afraid to tell you if what you think is a bad move and direct you in the right direction. She will not let you down.- Anonymous
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"Melody is a great family lawyer."Melody and the firm’s staff gave us excellent assistance in our successful effort to gain custodial control of our grandson. She guided us through the process, timely filed all documents and gave us great representation in the court proceedings.- Steven
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"Words can’t express my gratitude, thank you Melody!"Custody situations are not fun and as a father, it always seemed like an uphill battle but because of Melody I had not the best legal representation but a group of people who had my back and made sure that my son’s best interest was always THE priority. Melody was relentless in ensuring that the job was done right and successfully. Words can’t express my gratitude, thank you Melody! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THINGS RIGHT!- Josh
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"Smart, quick, and thorough."Melody Petitt handled my case quickly and thoroughly. I was so happy with her dedication to keeping my family and I safe and getting the proper legal measures in order. She was able to get my Protective Order filed and eventually won while keeping me informed and confident through the whole thing. I would highly recommend her to anyone.- Anonymous
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"Melody saved my case."When Melody took over my case, it was going nowhere, the previous attorney had done nothing for months but allow opposing counsel to stall, allowing my case to become dormant, luckily that attorney left the firm. When Melody took over she immediately began filing motions, requesting documents that previously had been denied. The outcome of my case was not all I’d hoped for, but Melody made sure I was able to maximize and make the best out of a bad situation. She was always honest, forthright, and meticulous in her handling of the case. She even pushed for the firm to credit my account for work that the previous attorney had not completed. If you want integrity, honesty, and hard work, definitely hire Melody Petitt as your counsel.- Tomas
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"Melody was easy to work with, listened to what I had to say, and helped me navigate a complicated divorce."Melody was easy to work with, listened to what I had to say, and helped me navigate a complicated divorce. Her knowledge of the law made it easy to feel confident in our case. She was very professional and could not have been more thorough. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great attorney who is willing to fight for you.- Taylor
Why Choose Petitt Family Law?
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Hundreds of Satisfied ClientsWork with a dedicated law firm with positive reviews from happy clients.
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20+ Years of ExperienceAttorney Melody Petitt has over 2 decades of family law experience.
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Start with a Quick & Easy ConsultMeet with Petitt Family Law during a virtual consultation!
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Family Law Is All We DoOur law firm focuses all of our practice on family law.