legal duties

[janelaw]

Vicki Robinson wrote:

In a previous article, "Shane Bennett" <sa...@ix.netcom.com>
said:

>Until you are married, it is not your responsibility. After
the marriage,
>you have a legal obligation to care for those children in the
same capacity
>as your husband.

Change "legal" to "moral" and I have no quibble with your
statement. I'm
wondering, though, if you know something that I don't (which
is quite QUITE
possible!) about the laws regarding step-parents. To my
knowledge, the law
does not require step-parents to assume any responsibility for
step-kids, and
the law certainly provides no legal rights to step-parents.
Do you have
knowledge of specific legal responsiblities, since you use the
word "legal?"

Like everything else, it varies by country and state. Step
parents certainly have legal
responsibility in many places. The "law" simply assigns them
certain duties and responsibilities.
The most well-known is administrative action and even criminal
prosecution for child
neglect if the step-parent is a responsible adult in the home.
Obviously, you need not
even be a step-parent to be charged with neglect of a child in
your care. Many places
have statutes under which parents may be prosecuted for the
criminal acts of minors
in their care. The laws make supervision of minors the legal
duty of their parents or guardians. This may include
biological, custodial and step parents, grandparents, etc.

Step parents may have civil liability for neglect of their duty
to care for minors in their
home. Examples would include your step children's right to sue
you for failing to
bring them to the doctor, or your next door neighbor's right to
sue you if your step
children break their windows. These are not necessarily
determined by the divorce
and custody agreements of the original parents. Law makers do
not have to be consistent.