The Japanese have a term, kenzoku, which translated literally means family.. The connotation suggests a bond between people who've made a similar commitment and who possibly therefore share a similar destiny.
The laws in different states vary on whether a stepparent in this situation may have child custody rights or pay child support. In some states and situations, the stepparent may be ordered to pay child support if the stepparent loses primary physical custody of the child.
Child support guidelines take into account monthly obligations of custodial parents and payments made by non-custodial parents to custodial parents' households. Upon remarriage, this traditional view maintains that the new spouse's income is not included in child support calculations, though there are some exceptions. Some states, such as California, take into account a new spouse's income when making child support payment determinations only in extraordinary cases. Extraordinary cases are defined as unemployment, underemployment, income reduction, and/or other reliance upon a new spouse's income.