The judgment discussed in this article is a good example of the extent to which the opinion of minors is valuable when deciding what should be the custody regime and, where appropriate, visits and contact with family members in the event of divorce or separation (in short, whenever the family nucleus is broken or modified).
This is a ruling that recognizes the right of a minor to have contact with his step-sister after the dissolution of the family.
According to the ruling, in the event of conflict between the children and the adults, the minors have the right to spend time with their siblings without the presence of the older siblings who may cause them discomfort. If you need legal assistance in any matter related to Family Law, consult our lawyers in Barcelona.
Sibling visitation: the right of minors to interact with their step-siblings
The judgment we are commenting on today comes from the Provincial Court of Barcelona, and it confirms the criterion established in the judgment issued in the first instance.
Specifically, it resolves a case on visitation between siblings and determines the right of the plaintiff’s son to interact with his father’s sister outside the parental home.
Specifically, in this case, the relationship between the siblings was limited when the son decided not to go to his father’s home anymore because he was being psychologically abused by his father’s partner.
Thus, the child felt insecure with the father and his partner, as they criticized the child’s mother, which had a negative impact on his emotional development.
Similarly, the child was distressed, according to the psychological reports, because of the pressure he received from his father and his partner when they were together, insisting that the latter call him mother, etc.
In this context, the child was in favor of maintaining contact with his father and especially with his stepsister, but not with his father’s new partner. The judgment also considers it proven that the father, despite having a very extensive visitation regime with the child, did nothing to enforce it, which denotes a lack of interest, if not neglect, despite the child’s efforts to see his sister.
Thus, the father and his partner allegedly put obstacles in the way of this relationship by imposing that they take place in the presence of the sister’s mother, knowing the child’s discomfort.
For all these reasons, the sentence of the Provincial Court decided to maintain the contested pronouncement, with the consequent dismissal of the appeal and the confirmation of the establishment of a visiting regime between the siblings, without the presence of the mother of their sister, and outside the paternal domicile, two Saturdays a month from 10 am to 7 pm, reintegrating the minor at that time in the maternal domicile.
In addition, it is established that communication between the two siblings may take place by telephone or video call three times a week between school dismissal time and 9 pm.
Finally, the Court considers that, in the event that for two consecutive months the visits between the two siblings cannot be carried out in the manner determined in the operative part of this sentence, they will meet at the Meeting Point, until the minor is 18 years old, and his sister is 8 years old, at which time the visits will be carried out without the need for the presence of the father or any meeting point.
The best interest of the child, key in this decision
This is not the first case of this type.
A precedent is found in a judgment issued in 2017, in which the Provincial Court of Palencia recognized the right of the children of the same father but of a different mother to spend the summer together.
Thus, the father’s request was granted, setting a visiting and vacation regime that coincided for his children, the fruit of different affective relationships.
The court then considered that the most beneficial and convenient for the child was that his period of stay with his father should coincide with that of his sister.
The reason for adopting this type of measures can be found in the best interests of the child, which must prevail above all else. In the case of the 2017 judgment, it was considered that the most beneficial and convenient for the child was that his period of stays with his father should coincide with that of his sister, adjusting for this purpose the drop-off and pick-up times and vacation periods, with the aim of fostering the fraternal relationship between the paternal siblings.
It is not superfluous to remember, says the Court, that in order to resolve the question raised, we must always take into account what is in the best interest of the minor, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the provisions of articles 39 of the Spanish Constitution and 92, 93, 154 and 170 of the Civil Code, in order to protect and preserve his dignity, the inviolable rights inherent to him, his free development of personality and all other rights that are the foundation of public order and social peace.
The same criterion is followed by the Catalan Civil Code in this sense.
For all this, the Court understood in this case that it was perfectly justified, being beneficial for both, that the two brothers could enjoy and share the leisure time derived from the weekends and vacations during the period that both were going to be and coexist with their father.
And all this without the fact that the fact that they are children of different mothers can prevent the promotion of the fraternal relationship between siblings.consult your case to our team of family lawyers in Barcelona .
