This is How You Fight False Allegations of Child Abuse in Family Court

This article is for parents who are facing false allegations of child abuse in California Family Court. These allegations can change a person's life. Unfortunately, these allegations are often accepted as true until the parent being accused can prove otherwise. They have an immediate effect on the parent-child relationship. We're going to discuss several things:

• Why would a parent ever make false child abuse allegations against the other parent?
• Why would a court, specifically a Family Court, ever take custody away from the accused parent when that accusation does not come with independent evidence?
• What can you do about false allegations of child abuse?

Part One: Why Would a Parent Ever Make False Allegations of Child Abuse?

The parent making false allegations of child abuse is, without exception, not concerned about the children. This has nothing to do with the children. It has everything to do with the accusing parent's anger at the other parent. When you recognize that fact, clarity sinks in—false allegations of child abuse are a revenge mechanism. The falsely accusing parent believes you have done something horrible to them. They believe you have slighted them to justify them making false allegations against you.

The falsely accusing parent does not believe their own allegations. They know they are lying. They know they are trying to destroy the children's relationship with you, but they do not care. They are often willing to go to the extreme of losing custody because they believe the cards in this game are stacked against you. If the children confirm the false allegations, the parent accusing you falsely thinks they win. Sadly, that can happen in some cases—the parent making the false allegation sometimes wins in Family Court.

This is another realization you must have when you go into these cases: your diligence is important. Sometimes this will not feel like a fair process, and you will feel like the process is not always just based on the evidence. The other side, falsely accusing you, will play dirty, and you should be vigilant to ensure misrepresentation made by that falsely accusing parent or their lawyer results in you taking appropriate legal action against the other parent and, in appropriate cases where the facts and the law support it, even against the other parent's lawyer.

Part Two: Are You Really in Family Court Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

This is the sad reality of the highly dysfunctional California Family Court process. Our laws are well-intended. They are not intended to help people who make false allegations. However, in reality, our laws are also not designed to protect the falsely accused parent, at least not in the beginning.

California Law Says That Child Abuse is a Form of Domestic Violence

Parents who make false child abuse allegations often seek domestic violence restraining orders against the other parent. Why would they do that instead of just filing a request with the court in a normal custody case? The advantage of seeking a domestic violence restraining order is that judges often assume everything in the restraining order request is true, and they then issue emergency orders just based on the paperwork.

If the parent accusing the other parent falsely of child abuse states what, on paper, sounds like child abuse—especially if that parent has reported it to the police or Child Protective Services and an investigation is pending but not yet concluded—a Family Law Judge will often err on the side of caution. By doing so, they grant a Temporary Restraining Order preventing the parent being accused from seeing the children.

This Temporary Restraining Order has Significant Immediate Effects

First, it isolates the children from the falsely accused parent. This is not a small deal. This allows the falsely accusing parent to continue manipulating, exploiting, and conditioning the children into believing they have been abused. It also allows the falsely accusing parent to work on their own allegations, often making them more robust.

We've seen situations where a parent makes claims that they never reported, and now, because Family Court is often a dysfunctional process and family law judges (as well-intended as the great majority of them are) just do not have the time to dedicate what they need to. The initial rash decision to take away all custody while an investigation is pending could result in a parent not seeing their children for many months—3 to 6 months, 6 months to a year, or even longer.

In these situations, experts—who, unfortunately, are sometimes anything but experts—get involved. These experts may be child custody evaluators who can range from very good to very bad at what they do. Therapists often get involved, but there are not many therapists who have experience in false child abuse cases.

What therapists sometimes do is simply act as the mouthpiece of the children and the falsely accusing parent because they typically do not get into the details of how these allegations first arose and what actually prompted them. If the therapist actually asked hard questions, such as what the accusing parent has actually said to the children versus what the children actually remember, they would realize that much of what the children are saying, if not all of it, is based on what the other parent convinced them to believe.

We've Seen Malicious and Destructive Parents Alter a Child's History

For example, children between the ages of six and ten will not remember what happened to them from birth until about four or five years old. They may remember recent events, but nobody remembers their birth story. Malicious parents will alter this birth story and make up horrible lies about the other parent regarding what happened in the first few years of life. Because children trust what a parent tells them, this fiction becomes their reality and gets repeated. This form of brainwashing by the malicious parent alters reality.

We know these issues and are familiar with the scientific literature showing how easily young children can be manipulated to believe what has never occurred.

Part Three: What Can You Do About False Allegations?

Let's begin with the end in mind. California Family Code 3027.1 allows for monetary sanctions in the form of attorney's fees against any person who knowingly makes false child abuse allegations, including the accusing parent, his or her lawyer, and witnesses. This is a powerful tool that the falsely accused have, which they should use in their family law case.

Hopefully, your case reaches a point where the evidence shows the allegations are false. Even though the court may not have reversed its prior orders yet, it is important for this change in momentum to take place. When it does, you can at least give notice to the other parent and their lawyer that sanctions and attorney fees may be sought. You can also give this notice to any witnesses the falsely accusing parent may have used to make those false allegations. These witnesses are often the falsely accusing parent's own family and close friends.

Family Code 3027.5 states that if a parent is found to have knowingly made false abuse allegations, the court can order professionally supervised visitation for the falsely accusing parent. You should remind the falsely accusing parent and their lawyer about this.

Why would you remind your opponent and their lawyer about these things? Chances are, the falsely accusing parent probably does not know about these laws. A lawyer who advances false allegations is also probably too ignorant to consider these issues. You are essentially giving the other side something to fear. Bad people do not do the right thing unless they are afraid of the consequences.

Another piece of law that many parents are not aware of is Penal Code 11172. This law allows you to seek civil damages against a parent who makes false allegations of child abuse maliciously or with reckless disregard for the truth. This goes beyond attorney's fees and addresses the actual emotional distress and other consequences resulting from the false allegations.

Strategies to Fight False Allegations

In terms of strategy, everything is about evidence. This is not a comprehensive list of every single thing you can do. We customize strategy to the case, and there are many additional strategies and tactics available beyond what we list here. The following are what we consider to be a good starting point.

Create a Timeline

To effectively defend against false allegations of child abuse, one of the first steps is to create a detailed timeline of events. False allegations are rarely made on the spur of the moment; they are typically the result of a buildup of various incidents. By mapping out these events in a timeline, you can start to uncover the real reasons behind the accusations. This also helps you gather important evidence like text messages, emails, photos, videos, etc.

A well-organized timeline can be incredibly useful. It allows you to see patterns in the behavior of the accusing parent that may indicate their real intentions, such as ongoing conflicts, financial disagreements, or other disputes that have escalated. This timeline can also help you spot inconsistencies in the accusing parent's story when compared to your own account, which can be so important in disproving their claims. Overall, having a clear timeline can make it easier for your attorney to build a strong defense and knowing what evidence you need, ensuring that your side of the story is well-documented and logically presented.

Interview Witnesses

To effectively defend against false allegations of child abuse, after you've established a timeline, the next step is to identify and interview witnesses. These witnesses should be people who know you, the other parent, and your children well. Their testimony can disprove (or be one of the pieces of evidence to help disprove) the false claims against you.

Witnesses matter because they can provide real evidence that counters the allegations. While the other parent might have created a false reality in the children, they can't change what actually happened. Witnesses who have seen you interact with your children can speak to your parenting, how the children respond to you, and why the allegations made against you are not consistent with what they have seen and heard.

They can also provide context if they know both you and the other parent, helping to challenge the narrative being presented by the malicious parent.

Additionally, those who know you well can vouch for your character and describe your behavior and reputation, which can further discredit the false allegations.

All of the witness statements and other documents can be presented in a proper legal form including declarations.

Witnesses with Knowledge of the Other Parent

Some of your witnesses might also have insight into the actions of the other parent, and their observations will help especially if the other parent has a history of dishonesty, manipulative behavior, disparaging you, disparaging your family or friends, and more.

For example, if the other parent has a pattern of lying and manipulation, witnesses who know this can testify to those instances, which can help undermine the credibility of the false allegations. In cases where the other parent is projecting their own negative behaviors onto you, witnesses who have seen this firsthand can be invaluable in disproving their claims. Additionally, if the other parent has alienated others or "burned bridges" with people who are now willing to speak out, these individuals may have revealing information. They could share things the other parent has said or done that expose their true intentions or discredit their allegations, offering powerful support for your defense.

Litigation Strategies

After organizing your timeline and identifying key witnesses, the next important step in defending against false allegations of child abuse is the litigation process. This phase involves gathering all necessary evidence, taking strategic depositions, and being prepared for your own deposition. What we list below is a small part of this strategy. There is much more that can be done, depending on the case.

Taking Depositions of Key Witnesses

Depositions are a tool in family law cases, especially when dealing with false allegations. While some witnesses may willingly come forward, others who have information might be reluctant. In such cases, their depositions are an option.

Some witnesses might hesitate to testify, possibly out of fear or a desire to avoid getting involved. However, depositions can compel these witnesses to provide their testimony under oath, ensuring that their knowledge is revealed.

Besides witness testimony, it may also be necessary to subpoena records such as medical or school records, which can provide a deeper understanding of the situation. In some cases, you might need to file a petition to obtain social services records, CAST (Child Abuse Services Team) tapes, or other documents that dig deeper than the surface claims.

Deposing the Other Parent

Taking the other parent's deposition can be valuable but whether you do it and how depends on the case. During this process, your attorney can ask detailed questions that explore the other parent's motives, uncover inconsistencies in their story, and challenge the truthfulness of their claims.

The deposition is an opportunity to expose contradictions in the other parent's narrative. If their statements conflict or change under questioning, these inconsistencies can significantly undermine their credibility. Additionally, the deposition can help reveal the true motives behind the false allegations, whether they are driven by anger, jealousy, an attempt to gain an advantage in the custody dispute, financial reasons and more.

Hiring Your Own Experts

Depending on the case, you may need your own expert. This article is not going to get into the different types of experts that are available and can help a parent who is falsely accused. But you should know there are experts who can dissect false accusations, and you may need more than one type of expert involved depending on the process you are going through. In the cases that we handle, we communicate with our clients about these types of experts that can be useful throughout the process.