A stepparent who does not have custody of the stepchildren and whose spouse does not have custody should not be required to support those children, says an attorney working with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Gary L. Johnson, acting as a cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Utah, has filed a motion in 3rd District Court to dismiss a complaint that seeks to make his client, Jackie Edwards, support her husband's four children from his first marriage.The complaint was filed by Lula Edwards, the children's mother, who said the father had failed to pay. The first wife cites a Utah law that says, "A stepparent shall support a stepchild to the same extent that a natural or adoptive parent is required to support a child."
But Johnson, in his motion, argues that the law narrowly defines a stepparent as a person married to the custodial parent, and that doesn't apply to Edwards.