Assignment 3 Memo – Research – Claire Genest Family Matter
MEMORANDUM
TO: LRW Student
FROM: Evelyn Parson
RE: Claire Genest – Divorce and Parenting Time
I am representing Claire Genest in regard to outstanding family law matters concerning her divorce and children.
Claire and her husband, Claude Genest, were high school sweethearts and were married on June 1, 2008, in Metro City, Canada. They have three children from the marriage- Genevieve (13 years of age and in grade 8), Felix (7 years of age and in grade 2) and Madeleine (3.5 years of age). Claude is an architect and project manager at a well-known and successful architect firm. He has always worked long and unpredictable hours and travels often to supervise architect projects. Claire is a homemaker. She and Claude agreed at the beginning of their marriage that she would take on this role while he advanced his education and career. They also agreed that they did not want their children to attend daycare. Claire explained that their plan was always to have two children and that Madeleine was really a surprise. Claire is hoping to go to school to obtain her nursing degree but will wait until Madeleine starts going to school. Claire jokes that she will be the oldest student on campus, but this has always been her dream.
The last few years have been difficult for their marriage, and Claire thinks it started with the COVID pandemic. Claude worked from home for about 6 months, and Claire said that this was when she started to realize that maybe they were no longer well matched. Claire and Claude attended marriage counselling until last fall, but it was not successful, and they decided to separate on January 1, 2024.
Claire and Claude continue to reside in the family home together and have agreed that Claire will retain the family home. The reason they chose their current home was because it is close to extended family. Claude’s mother, Claire’s parents and Claire’s sister and her family all live in the same area within walking distance. The children are close to all of them, especially their cousins. Claude has plans to move into a two-bedroom rental property within the next couple of months while his new four-bedroom home is being built. The build has not yet started, and Claire is sure it will take at least a year, if not longer to complete. The rental property is very close to Claude’s work and the location of his new home so Claude can easily keep tabs on the progress. Claire says it is a 40-minute drive to that part of the city from the family home.
So far, the situation between Claire and Claude has been civil. Genevieve and Felix are aware of the separation and know that Dad will be moving soon. Claire and Claude explained the situation to them together. Madeleine is not really aware of what is happening given her young age. Claire has a friend, Molly, who recently went through a divorce and Molly told her that she and Claude would have to work out parenting time. Molly also told her that the Divorce Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp) was really important to her own case and that this is what her lawyer relied on when considering what could happen with parenting time of the children.
Claire and Claude discussed decision making responsibility and have both agreed that it is not an issue, and they agree on all the major decisions. All three children have been baptized and Claire ensures they attend their neighborhood church each Sunday (Claude used to attend all the time but his attendance has become less common). Further, Claire and Claude come from French Canadian families and so they mutually agreed that the children would attend Francophone schools, which are about a 20-minute drive from the family home. Claire says there are no issues regarding health, religion, education or extracurricular activity decisions being made jointly. Molly also informed Claire that she remembers her lawyer telling her that the Divorce Act had just been amended in 2021.
Claire is concerned about parenting time. She has not discussed this in detail with Claude but is getting the sense that he thinks it will be easy to work out and that they will have equal parenting time. Claire had assumed that the children would be with her most of the time, seeing as she has been the stay-at-home parent. Claire is worried that Claude is being unrealistic and impractical. Claude has made comments about working from home when he has the children (so Madeleine does not have to attend daycare) and stopping his travelling. Claire is the one who normally takes the children to their activities and appointments and drives them to and from school. Claire also makes their meals, bathes them and gets them to bed. Claire advises that Claude does make efforts to help when he is home.
Genevieve has told Claire that she does not want to reside with her dad on an equal basis because the drive to the family home/activities from his new place is way too long and she does not want to miss out on spending time with her friends. Also, Claude only has two bedrooms so Genevieve is not thrilled about that and is not sure where they would all sleep. Felix is pretty happy-go-lucky but can be hard to get going in the mornings. He is also allergic to peanuts and Claire is worried that this could slip Claude’s mind as he is not the one who typically prepares meals and school lunches. It is very important that Felix always has easy access to an EpiPen (auto-injector for allergies). Claire is concerned about Madeleine’s young age and being away from her for any extended period of time.
Claire knows that Molly’s case went all the way to trial and was extremely expensive. Claire advises that her parents said they would help pay her legal fees if litigation is required, but she really does not want to go that route. She is hoping to keep the transition as seamless as possible for the children and wants to know the law around parenting time.
Please research the relevant sections of the Divorce Act and related law and provide me with a completed Research Synopsis. At least three of the cases that you rely on must be briefed in the Case Brief section of the template. You should provide your research findings and remember the focus is on parenting time. Decision making responsibility, division of family property, child support and spousal support are not at issue here.
I will leave it to you to decide which specific sources to use, but I expect you to consult and cite the Divorce Act, case law and secondary sources. Be sure to indicate whether you think we need more information and state your assumptions.
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below is the template attached
