Does a soon-to-be stepmother have legal rights to the child?
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Answer:
The issue appears to be more personal than legal. No, the girlfriend does not have any legal rights as far as the child is concerned. However, as a practical matter when the child is with the son and girlfriend the son and girlfriend are in control. Situations like this are common where divorce happens and the father and mother remarry bringing into the mix other people who have different personalities, values and ways of doing things. If the girlfriend had children of her own, the situation would probably be worse. I have no real legal information to offer on the subject. As for personal advice, I am no expert in these matters other than personally being in a mixed second marriage with mine, hers and ours. I have heard that the best thing form people to do is to recongnize that they have different ways of doing things in regard to children and agree that the parent is the one to make the decisions. But this does not always work and is hard to accomplish. Maybe a talk with your son about the issue and concern at the right time and place could help. The more the child knows how you feel about the girlfriend the worse the situation could become. In fact, if this person is to be your son's wife, the child should be encouraged to get along with her. A bad situation that I hope turns out good for you. Sometimes it is not best to fight fire with fire but instead kindness and understanding, which could help.