Divorce is difficult and often devastating. A family’s delicate structure and rhythm is unwound when a separation of any kind occurs. Many of the most difficult decisions anyone will ever face arise when one seeks to change the dynamics of a family through divorce. The consequences of these changes can reach further than one might ever expect. Difficult decisions must be made, values and priorities must be identified and weighed, and timing can be critical at this crucial time which will likely have a profound impact on the entire family’s future.
At Laurent Legal, Donna truly understands the significance of this crucial time. She understands the importance of the decisions that must be made in the divorce process and the sensitivity of effectively timing any actions that are selected. To comprehensively assist her clients through the divorce process, Donna has a compassionate and insightful manner that helps clients make informed, thoughtful decisions that are best for your family, and she guides and supports her clients through every phase of the challenging and emotional process of separation and divorce.
Helping Families Transition Through Difficult Times in the Divorce Process
Family law actions, including divorce, inevitably impact a family in almost every possible area from nearly every aspect of one’s daily life. Laurent Legal is well suited to help craft creative solutions that meet both individual needs of our clients as well as the more expansive needs of a particular family. Areas touched by separation and divorce can include:
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Property division — Disentangling finances is often quite challenging. Donna will help analyze individual financial needs, assess factual and legal considerations, and help structure the appropriate division of property which might include real property, debt, business interests, retirement, financial portfolios, or intellectual property rights. Through consultation, assessment, mediation and litigation, our team will take action necessary to address all issues involved in property division, including those particular to families with children who have special needs or those that involve complex issues for families with high net-
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Child Custody and Support — The most sensitive and critical areas of any family law matter are the issues regarding our clients’ most important concern — their children. Donna Laurent has vast experience in creating effective and detailed parenting plans and crafting custody orders that meets a family’s unique needs while helping clients make sense of and navigate the unsteady waters of California’s custody laws and complicated child support guidelines.
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Guidance, advice and advocacy for parents of children with special needs — Unlike almost any other family law firm in the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley/Malibu and Calabasas areas, Donna is skilled in identifying the various areas where such families fail to fit into the mold of traditional property division, child or spousal support and child custody orders. After many years of representing families with children challenged by developmental, medical, psychiatric and emotional needs, as well as personal experience, Donna Laurent possesses the education and experience necessary to understand how such challenges impact family law decisions and how family law decisions impact children with special needs. Appreciating the interplay of these often irreconcilable obstacles allows Donna to use her unique knowledge and resources to assist clients in the pursuit of solutions that are feasible, reasonable and that address both aspects of the family’s evolution.
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Spousal support — The changing landscape of a family necessarily poses modifications in its day to day financial picture. When the same combined income that once fed one household must be divided to feed two, inevitable and appreciable financial challenges must occur. Donna works to define the needs of the family, the ability to provide support and the standard of living the family enjoyed before the separation with the objective of making this financial transition as seamless as possible.
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Attorney’s fees — One of the most challenging areas of a dissolution is stretching the family’s funds to sufficiently ensure competent and appropriate representation for both parties. Fees can be based upon financial disparity of the parties, the conduct of parties during the process and various other factors. Laurent Legal seeks to find a comprehensive way to represent a party given the need for and availability of funds for that purpose and we often recommend alternative forms of representation by offering limited scope and “unbundled services.”
At Laurent Legal, Donna believes the way one reaches a family law agreement can be just as important as the agreements themselves. Although Donna prides herself on her trial experience and welcomes the opportunity to represent her clients in a courtroom, she strives to help her clients resolve matters outside of litigation in all instances where such a resolution is possible to avoid any unnecessary emotional or financial expense.
Begin the Healing Process
Donna’s many years of holding the hands of clients going through the divorce process has prepared her to take steps necessary to minimize this difficult process. Call 818-