In re Alexander T. CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

Alexander T.’s parents were never married. He lived primarily with his mother, and had no real contact with his father until he was nine years old. Jane Doe is the adoptive daughter of father and father’s ex-wife.1 Jane is the biological child of father’s cousin. Father and his then-wife agreed to adopt Jane because the cousin was going to prison and could not care for her. Thus, Jane is both Alexander’s biological cousin and his adoptive half-sister, a family relationship that father explained to Alexander and Jane. The two minors, however, were never raised as siblings in the same household. Rather, after father and his wife divorced, Jane lived primarily with her adoptive mother while Alexander continued to reside in the home of his mother. Alexander and Jane met for the first time in the summer of 2009 and saw each other only when they visited their father. Both described their relationship as that of a brother and sister. In December 2010, Jane was 14 years old and Alexander was 15 years old. At that time, Jane visited with her father every Monday, Tuesday, and the third Sunday of each month. Alexander also visited father on certain Mondays and Tuesdays,…