My wife is not my son's biological mother, would she be considered his legal parent or legal guardian?

rlm12261988 · ‎February 28, 2023

TurboTax asks who his legal parents are between my wife and I

MaryK4 · ‎February 28, 2023

If there was a legal adoption, she would be the legal parent. A legal guardian would be someone who has authority if the parents are not present (temporary or permanent).

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xmasbaby0 · ‎February 28, 2023

If you are legally married , your spouse is your child's step-parent. The IRS considers a step-parent to be a parent for tax purposes. Why are you asking? What are you trying to do?

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

JohnB5677 · ‎March 2, 2023

To answer the specific question: Unfortunately, stepparents do not have any legal rights to their stepchildren, even if you consider them to be your own children. Unless you legally adopted these children as your own, you cannot claim guardianship over them.

What is a Guardianship? | IRS Definition of a Guardianship

A stepparent only becomes a stepparent upon marriage to one of the biological parents. You are not a stepparent from a legal perspective if you are only living together with your partner – no matter how long for. Typically, a stepparent doesn't have any legal 'custody' rights to stepchildren.

If the question is, "Can you claim them as a dependent"? The answer is Yes!

Please see this IRS article: Tests for a Qualifying Child

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My wife is not my son's biological mother, would she be considered his legal parent or legal guardian?