Legal Definitions - stepparent

A stepparent is someone who marries one of a child's biological parents after the death or divorce of the other parent. They do not have a biological relationship with the child.

Stepparents are not automatically considered legal parents of the child. They can become legal parents through a process called stepparent adoption. This process requires the termination of the other legal parent's rights or their consent.

Example 1: Sarah's parents divorced when she was young. Her mother remarried a man named John. John is Sarah's stepparent because he married her mother after her biological father left.

Example 2: After Tom's father died, his mother remarried a woman named Lisa. Lisa is Tom's stepparent because she married his mother after his biological father passed away.

These examples illustrate how a stepparent is someone who marries a child's biological parent after the death or divorce of the other parent. They do not have a biological relationship with the child, but they can become a legal parent through stepparent adoption.