header-logo header-logo

Step-parents in 2019: family but legal strangers?

06 June 2019 / Sarah Hughes
Issue: 7843 / Categories: Features , Family , Divorce , Child law
printer mail-detail

Step-parents are fast becoming the new norm but have limited rights, regardless of their responsibilities, as Sarah Hughes explains

  • Step-parents have none or very limited rights, regardless of the responsibility they assume for a child’s day to day upbringing.
  • They remain largely dependent on the agreement of both parents or the scrutiny of the court to acquire parental responsibility.

Step families are the fastest growing family type in the UK. It is estimated that almost one in three families has a step-child from a previous relationship, meaning almost two million children living in a two-parent family where one parent is not their own.

Step-parents play an increasingly important role in a child’s life. They will often form a close bond with the child, live with that child, care for them as their own, and share responsibility for their day to day needs, particularly when the child is young. However, step-parents do not have legal standing for the child, and step-parent families are often overlooked in the drive

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll