child custody

[tvigil]

My brother and his wife have been separated for over a year now. They have a 3 year old daughter together. My brother's wife now lives with another man. My brother found out that her boyfriend spanks his daughter. Is there anything legally he can do to stop this? Can he keep his daughter and not give her back to the mother?

 

[irish223]

Why hasn't he filed for divorce? Is there a custody/visitation order in place? If not, your brother needs to get to court to straighten that out. He can address the spanking then.

If there is no order, your brother has the same rights as the mother. However, with court ordered visitation and custody, each parent is guaranteed their time.

 

[Duranie]

The boyfriend hs no right to be spanking the child. Dad should file for emergency custody and divorce if he hasnt already. If the boyfriend is already spanking the child then this should be troubling, as much abuse to kids is done by boyfriends and step-parents.

If there is no court order, then Dad should be able to keep the child. Mom does not automatically have custody unless the courts say she does.

I would also call CPS. Some agencies take this seriously but others may not. It's worth looking into.