if a man

if a man marries a divorced woman with kids,do the kids automatically become his step children even if he doesn't adopt them and they don't change there surname to his.
and if so do they remain his step children for the rest of his or there lives.

cheers
andy 1

[Alanmelon]

The term step child/mother/father etc is purely optional, and AFAIK has no legal status whatsoever. Adoption, however, brings with it legal responsibilities.

[Chris W]

Originally Posted by Alanmelon

The term step child/mother/father etc is purely optional, and AFAIK has no legal status whatsoever. Adoption, however, brings with it legal responsibilities.

correct step is just a name, my girlfriends mum remarried after my g/f moved out of home; her mum did not change her name but she still refers to john as her stepdad.

so in other words the so called step children have no rights in law when the so called step father dies,ie (they can't legally step in and take charge of the funeral or the estate of the deceased)there is no last will and testament by the way.and the childrens mother left the so called stepfather about 12 years ago.
oh and by the way the so called step children are now grown up with children of there own

[Maggy J]

If the mother is still married to the dead man she is his closest living family.If not I've no idea what the law is.

Incog.

[Chimaera]

I think there is something to say that if they were treated as 'children of the family' eg if they were provided for by the stepfather and treated as children of the marriage then they have a claim on his estate?
Might be worth contacting Citizen's Advice about it.

the mother is dead.and i thought a blood relative ie brother or sister would have more rights than a so called step child.

[Maggy J]

I think from what you are saying a visit to a solicitor or a CAB is on the cards.

to be honest with you incognitas i don't want to get involved (you know what families are like).i was just curious about the legalities thats all,but thanks for the reply.
andy 1

[Maggy J]

Oh yes I know about step sisters and wills and bequests.

[Chris]

I used to hate hearing my dad's wife being referred to as my mother, or stepmother if people were aware of our family circumstances. It was a natural assumption for people to make if we went away on holiday with my dad, his wife and her kids, but I always used to make sure to correct people, in that frosty way that only a teenager can, that she was not my mother, or my stepmother, I didn't live with her, and that my mum was alive and well at home.

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

If the mother is still married to the dead man <snip>
Incog.

then it's a very very strange relationship

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by andy 1

if a man marries a divorced woman with kids,do the kids automatically become his step children even if he doesn't adopt them and they don't change there surname to his.
and if so do they remain his step children for the rest of his or there lives.

cheers
andy 1

If a man marries the mother of his children and his name is not on the birth certificate then he still has to adopt the children before they are legally his!

A Step relationship can step in and out without fiscal obligation, just moral ones.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by andy 1

so in other words the so called step children have no rights in law when the so called step father dies,

No

Originally Posted by andy 1

ie (they can't legally step in and take charge of the funeral

Well anyone can organise and pay for a funeral, but it would probably be desirable to get these expenses back from the estate.

Originally Posted by andy 1

or the estate of the deceased)there is no last will and testament by the way.

With no will (or even with a will) someone has to be appointed as exector of the estate. Normally a will will specify who that is, in this case someone needs to propose to be executor and the court will need to approve that.

They will then need to follow the rules of intestacy
http://www.ethicalinvestors.co.uk/te.../intestacy.htm
is a nice predictor of how the cake is cut.
Spouse
Children (adopted, but not step)
Parents
Brothers and Sisters
Grandparents
Aunts / Uncles

all get claims. If none of these exist, then Queenie gets the lot. If the estate is over £250k then Mr. Brown will take 40% of the bit above 250k and queenie gets the balance.

Originally Posted by andy 1

and the childrens mother left the so called stepfather about 12 years ago.
oh and by the way the so called step children are now grown up with children of there own

Seems the step children are a legal irrelivance, the parents (seems unlikly since the children are grown up), grandparent (less likely), brothers (are you one) and sisters and aunts and uncles are the interested parties in this estate.

EDIT

He was married? You say left - do you mean left or divorced?

Spouse gets personal effects, first £200,000 (1) plus half the balance. Rest shared between surviving brothers and sisters or their issue (2). If your estate is worth more than £700,000 (3) IHT will be payable.

Still the step children are entitled to nothing.

As there was no will, I don't think a deed of variation can be executed (there is no document to vary) so intestacy rules apply. Life insurance policies are not normally paid to the estate but to the benefactors, so are not part of the estate for IHT, property held as tenants in common (not joint tenants) will automatically (ish) pass to the surviving tenant.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by andy 1

hello SMHARMAN
the deceased persons wife left him years ago,they did not divorce and the wife died 13 years ago.
the so called step children have now stepped in and taken charge of the funeral and told the deceased persons sisters that they have taken legal advice, and they are entitled to everything belonging to the deceased because there mother (dead 13years) left him but did not divorce him or he her,and that they are his step children with the same rights in law as if they had been his real children (blood).
no i am not the deceased persons brother i am his nephew.
regards
andy 1

Assuming we're in England and Wales (not scottish law) and that both were born in the UK

The estate will be
"Shared equally between them (brothers and sisters) or their issue (2). If your estate is worth more than £250,000 IHT will be payable (3)."

'Issue' means children (including illegitimate and adopted children but not step-children), grandchildren and great grandchildren, etc.

Sounds like some dodgy legal advice these step kids have got. Now the Sisters should get some advice, assuming there is an estate worth worrying about. The sisters can obviously decide to share the estate in a manner different to that set out by intestacy law, but that is their decision not the step kids.

If he was considered a proper father to the step kids the sisters should ethically take this into consideration, but legally there is no need.

If he cared how his estate was divvied up then he would have made a will ( he says going off to make a will).