Jennifer Hargrave is a true innovator when it comes to divorce. As owner and founder of Hargrave Family Law, her mission is to help good people end broken marriages by “doing divorce” in a different way. She has seen far too many divorces dissolve into a “War of the Roses” leaving unnecessary destruction in their wake. “My mission is to help our clients end their marriage in a way that is consistent with their core values and their desire to preserve their family’s dignity throughout the process. People deserve better than a system that needlessly escalates the conflict and ends in outright public combat.”
Her solution: Collaborative Divorce. This approach allows the couple to work together with lawyers and other professionals to creatively develop their post-divorce plan themselves, rather than leaving it up to a judge. A couple can contemplate matters unique to their family, such as protecting privacy due to a life in the public eye, providing for a special needs child, or discreetly transferring business ownership. At the same time, couples also build skills to handle future conflict in a less destructive way, learning ways to deal with life post-divorce in a healthier manner. In families with children, and with help from professionals, the co-parenting relationship emerges stronger, with the couple learning how to focus on putting the children’s best interests at the forefront. The end result is a family better equipped to enter the next stage of their lives.
A process that may start with tremendous grief, fear, and uncertainty can actually become a time of remarkable growth. Restarting a forgotten hobby, launching a new business endeavor, or restructuring priorities to value quality time with those they treasure, all help Jennifer’s clients reclaim their life and be the author of their own next chapter. “When you focus on the future you want to create, rather than remain mired in the past, amazing things begin to happen.” The collaborative process gives them space to do this. Time and time again she has seen her clients blossom and leave the divorce process filled with optimism instead of bitterness. Jennifer considers it a privilege to watch this amazing transformation, and remains inspired to continue on her maverick mission.
While her professional pedigree is impressive and extensive, an innate ability to provide support and reassurance is also part of Jennifer’s DNA. Coming from a pastoral family with a father serving as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, passing it forward and spreading hope is deep-rooted in her psyche. Her desire to minimize conflict combined with her vast professional expertise with was the impetus behind building a team of like-minded professionals into a firm based on providing hope. “At Hargrave Family Law, we understand the true value of a well-negotiated outcome that doesn’t leave a path of destruction in its wake. I want to continue to educate people that they do have better options when facing divorce. It has become my life’s mission to provide people the choice to divorce with dignity.”
Jennifer S. Hargrave
Hargrave Family Law
4201 Spring Valley Rd., Suite 1210, Dallas, TX 75244
Photography by: Hargrave Family Law