A Study of the Legal Issues of Stepchildren Support Their Stepparents

Abstract

As long as the formation of the actual foster relationship between the stepparents and the stepchildren is fictional blood relatives, the rights and obligations are the same as those of the biological parents and children. But at present the criteria for the foster relationship between stepparents and stepchildren are still unclear in our state laws. And the source of support obligations in practice cases are also controversial. The purpose of this paper is to explore the legal issues of the stepchildren’s fostering for the stepparents. The first is to determine that the main source of the stepchildren’s duty to stepparents is the actual foster relationship between the two sides. However, the fostering obligation under the principle of equal rights and obligations cannot be completely excluded. The second is to define the meaning of the fostering and the criteria for the actual foster relationship between the stepparents and stepchildren. The author gives some reasonable suggestions based on various viewpoints and practice cases. Keywords—Stepparents; Stepchildren; Foster relationship