Step-Child Definition: Help! Related Terms: Step-Parent, In Loco Parentis In a 1953 case, R. v Groening, Justice Montague used these words;"A step-son (is) a son, by a former marriage, of one's husband or wife...."[A] step-child must be the issue of a former marriage of one's husband or wife." In Re Smith's Estate, Justice Schwellenbach of the Supreme Court of Washington noted that:"At common law, the relationship of stepparent and stepchild conferred no rights and imposed no duties.... The rule of the feudal law excluded from the inheritance descendants who were of the half blood. The rule never found favor in this country (USA)."As between a stepchild and a stepparent there is no blood relationship, but only that designated as affinity, the relationship which one spouse, because of marriage, has to blood relatives of the other." REFERENCES:In re Smith's Estate, 299 P. 2d 550 (1956)R v Groenberg, 107 CCC 234 (Manitoba Court of Appeal) Categories & Topics: Family Law Dictionary Trusts, Wills, Estates and Probate Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!