Irresponsible Parent - Custody of Children?

[Lennox2411]

My partner has a 6year old with a woman who is by no means a responsible parent. She is still with an abusive partner, which is unsafe for the child when she is in her care. She has been caught drink driving twice in the last five years, most recent as a couple weeks ago (wrote off her vehicle and had it towed). She has forgotten to pick her child up from school, she has not handed in after school care forms, therefore having the child sit and wait in the school office. All these incidents are recurring and it is clear to me she is unfit to take care of a child. We would like to know how to go about getting custody of the child (custody of children) without dragging it through the family law courts or if need be, what would be the repercussions of the father just taking his daughter. We are concerned parents, please advise thank you.

 

[CathL]

Hi Lennox2411,
What agreements or orders does he have in place with his ex regarding parenting arrangements for the child? Have a look at the Family Law Courts "Children's Matters" page which will give you the info about parenting arrangements. If there are already orders or an agreement in place, then he'll need to apply to the court to vary them. If he wants things to be legally enforceable, he'll need to get Consent Orders or a Parenting Order (which require varying degrees of interaction with the Family Court).

Also have a read of the Family Law Courts "Family Violence" page. Then you can make an informed decision about whether to pursue that path when seeking to gain a greater share of the child's time.