Step Relationships

[tmalek 0]

My grandmother had 2 stepsisters (same mother, different fathers). The TMG Relationship Calculator shows them as sisters (and this of course carries over to SS3). Am I doing something wrong or does TMG not show step sibling relationships? Could not find anything on this forum or on the mailing archives.

Tom Malek

[Mike Talbot 0]

My grandmother had 2 stepsisters (same mother, different fathers). The TMG Relationship Calculator shows them as sisters (and this of course carries over to SS3). Am I doing something wrong or does TMG not show step sibling relationships? Could not find anything on this forum or on the mailing archives.

Tom Malek

 

In the USA, a step-sister relationship is one through adoption or a remarriage without the close biological sister relationship. If females have the same mother, they are sisters. The same if they have the same father but different mothers, they are sisters. One could call them half-sisters, but not step-sisters.

 

An example of a step-sister relation, if a woman with a daughter by her previous marriage, married a man with a daughter by his previous marriage, those daughters would be step-sisters. Another example, if a couple with a daughter adopts another girl, then those two girls are step-sisters.

 

Best wishes,

[tmalek 0]

Thanks Mike -

 

Is that a legal definition? I tried the law dictionary on the internet but it did not help.

 

I would then assume that the same answer would apply to 2 men who had the same mother but different fathers - they would be brothers?

 

Tom

 

In the USA, a step-sister relationship is one through adoption or a remarriage without the close biological sister relationship. If females have the same mother, they are sisters. The same if they have the same father but different mothers, they are sisters. One could call them half-sisters, but not step-sisters.

 

An example of a step-sister relation, if a woman with a daughter by her previous marriage, married a man with a daughter by his previous marriage, those daughters would be step-sisters. Another example, if a couple with a daughter adopts another girl, then those two girls are step-sisters.

 

Best wishes,

[Michael Hannah 0]

The issue is whether you want to use a "biological/genetic" term or a "family" construct term.

 

For genetics/biology, a "step" sibling is when you are living in the same family as brother/sister but have no biological relationship. For example the parents marry but both have prior children. Then for one sibling the wife is the biological mother and for the other sibling the husband is the biological father, but the siblings have no common biological relationship. "Half" siblings are when you share one but only one biological parent, e.g. you have the same biological mother but different biological fathers. So if the parents of the marriage above have a child, then that new child is now a "half" sibling to the children from both prior marriages, i.e. it will have one but only one biological parent in common with either of the other children.

 

As far as a "family" construct term, in either case the siblings are generally simply referred to as brother or sister.

 

Hope this gives you ideas,

[Mike Talbot 0]

Thanks Mike -

 

Is that a legal definition? I tried the law dictionary on the internet but it did not help.

 

I would then assume that the same answer would apply to 2 men who had the same mother but different fathers - they would be brothers?

 

Tom

 

I don't know the legal ramifications, but step-relatives as described in previous post are generally accepted genealogical terms in the USA. If there is an official adoption through the U.S. court system, these do become legal terms, giving step-children the same rights and duties as bio-children.

 

Yes, it applies to brothers, sisters, parents, etc.

 

As a more complex example from real life, my grandma's mom died when she was an infant. Her mom's sister was married to her dad's brother. They took her in and raised her, making them her step-mother and step-father. They were also her biological aunt and uncle.

 

Their biological children were grandma's biological 1st cousins. But by virtue of being raised together as a single household, they were also considered grandma's step-brothers and step-sisters.

 

Hope my attempted explanation isn't too confusing,

[Helmut Leininger 0]

"Half" siblings are when you share one but only one biological parent, e.g. you have the same biological mother but different biological fathers. So if the parents of the marriage above have a child, then that new child is now a "half" sibling to the children from both prior marriages, i.e. it will have one but only one biological parent in common with either of the other children.

 

Hi,

 

Just to show the "impossibility" to get it straight: half-siblings do not have half-parents but one parent and one step-parent.

[Jim Byram 0]

I agree with Mike's explanation and have always heard the terms used as he describes.

 

'Step' implies an adoption.

 

If two children have a parent in common and the other parents differ, I've always heard them called half-siblings ('half' meaning one parent in common). In this case, all relationships are biological.

 

If the second parent adopts the child who is not his or her child then there is a step-parent and step-child relationship.

 

The two children are now not only half-siblings (one common parent) but now are also step-siblings (one parent for one of the children by adoption).

 

It would be hard for TMG to sort out the last relationship in the relationship calculator so I don't see an issue with the return as 'sisters'.