What is the ruling on dealing with a bad-tempered wife who instigates problems with her husband's children and incites their father against them, and how should one deal with a father who always defends his wife and takes her side?

Among the most important objectives of Islam are affection and love among Muslims, especially among relatives and in-laws. The father's wife is a mahram to her husband's children and is in the position of their mother. Their honoring her is a form of filial piety towards their father, and likewise, she treats them as her own children. The father should reinforce these noble meanings and rectify any imbalance if found. Harm must be averted from the aggrieved party, and no courtesy should override justice. The children living with the father's wife in one dwelling may be a cause for problems, and the wife has the right to a separate dwelling. It is not permissible to accuse anyone of sorcery without evidence, as the default assumption for a Muslim is blamelessness.