According to the Pew Research Center, less than half of children under
18 live in a traditional family household within the country. In fact,
15% of children live with two parents who are in a remarriage and 6% of
children live with a stepparent. However, despite these numbers and the
important role step-parents undoubtedly play in their children’s
lives, they actually have very little say-so unless they legally adopt
their step-children.
Step-Parent Rights
Step-parents have no legal rights to make decisions on behalf of a child’s
well-being, including those regarding medical decisions, who has access
to the child, and decisions involving education and extracurricular activities.
As mentioned above, if the step-parent legally adopts his or her step-child,
this changes, imbuing the step-parent with legal rights to make important
decisions.
Some states allow the natural rights of a parent or legal guardian to transfer
to a step-parent through a Power of Attorney form, though these often
have limitations. Courts tend to be more lenient when it comes to visitation
rights and, today, nearly half of the states in the country have laws
authorizing step-parent visitation. Florida, unfortunately, does not recognize
any visitation rights of step-parents.
Financial Responsibilities and Other Support Issues
In addition to not having legal rights to step-children, step-parents are
also usually not legally obligated to support step-children, which two
exceptions:
- The state has a statute imposing this responsibility
- The step-parent acts In Loco Parentis to the step-child, meaning he or
she will take on some of the functions of a parent, which is common in
cases when a biological parent cannot financially support the child
Estate Issues
When a person dies without a will, this creates a terrible mess for families,
especially step-families. Without a will in place, the step-children of
a step-parent are not entitled to an inheritance, regardless of what his
or her wishes were. Drafting or reviewing an existing will is critical
for step-parents who would like their step-children to be eligible beneficiaries,
so make sure the terms of yours are clearly defined.
Daytona Beach Family Law Attorneys
At Law Offices of Robert Stepniak, our legal team has a long history of success with
Florida family law and is well versed with the legal system. Our Daytona
Beach divorce attorneys know how to resolve cases as quickly as possible
while helping our clients achieve their goals. Regardless of the complexities
of your case, we are on your side and have the resources to assist you.
Get started on your case today and contact us at
(386) 253-4750 to schedule a free consultation with a skilled member of our Daytona Beach
legal team.