How, under these proposals, will the system treat children in the household who may be relatives but are not natural or stepchildren?
I have some sympathy, though, with the point made about stepchildren, which may be a point of some contention in the implementation of the change.
Stepchildren from an earlier marriage of the respondent's husband (who actually lived nearer) were not counted as children at the start of the study.
These fears were particularly strong where there were no children to be relied upon, or when there were stepchildren, or when distant relatives were perceived as hostile.
When seen ' from the top ', the effects may be different, because the parent may acquire stepchildren or new biological children, and may be supported by a wider range of relations.
Six years later a second, mutual will was filed at the court, saying that she and the stepchildren should have one-third of the entire estate if he died first.
Older partners may be unsure about how to relate to married stepchildren and their families, even though they are part and parcel of the relationship with the new partner.
This was strikingly indicated, for example, when we came to interpret the interviews which we recorded with our stepchildren sample.
