Legal Question in Family Law in California
A 4-year-old male child is acting out violently against a 2-year-old female half-sibling. These acts of violence go much further than typical sibling rivalry, or fighting, or simple misbehaving. While we do have one medical record that shows that the younger child sustained serious injury (staples to close a head wound) at the hands of the elder sibling, the only witnesses to the on-going violence is the custodial mother (who won't admit to the problem) and the non-custodial father (who has witnessed some violence and dangerous activity while in the mother's home). The most recent behavior that the father witnessed was the boy spanking his sister (the biological child of the father) while the custodial parent (mother) was in the room. The mother did nothing to stop the behavior, or even to correct it. Of course, the father cannot prove that this incident even occurred. It's his word against hers, essentially. The 2-year-old cannot speak for herself in this matter. That said, the non-custodial father is worried that, to some people, it might look as though he is exaggerating the issue in a malicious attempt to gain more custody/visitation. This is not the case. I can't find any real records of how law enforcement officials, CPS workers, or judges deal with this kind of violence by a child so young against another child so young. I also don't know how the father possibly can go about proving that this violent pattern of behavior exists, unless he secretly records conversations while in the mother's home (which I understand to be illegal in California). Where can I look to learn more about this problem? Surely someone, somewhere in California has had to deal with this issue before. The father's only concern here is his daughter's safety and well-being while in her mother's home. All parties involved are residents of the State of California, by the way.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Your situation requires the services of an experienced family law attorney. A return to court requesting a child custody evaluation seems in order.
I agree with Ms. Kock. It sounds like you may want to also consider asking the court to appoint minor's counsel, for each of the two children, in order to ensure their respective interests are taken care of. It is very important to address these issues quickly. They will only get worse. This is not something a child will "grow out of." This is a behavioral problem that must be addressed professionally. You have two immediate concerns: the safety of the younger child and the reason for the older child's behavior. Don't waste time with this, get on it immediately. These kinds of situations can turn into disasters.
Good luck
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