This article was originally published on Lawyers.com by Jennifer Ryan on January 28, 2017.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Dec. 29, 2015, issued a landmark decision that may affect whether, after separation and / or divorce, a stepparent is responsible to pay child support to a biological parent and, if so, how the child support amount will be determined.

We wrote earlier about the factors that influence whether a party such as a stepparent or grandparent may seek child custody or be compelled to pay child support. This most recent decision is an important update to Pennsylvania child support and child custody law.

The decision came in the case A.S. v. I.S., in which I.S. (“Mother”) had twin sons in 1998. Mother and the children’s biological father had a Serbian court order that governed both child custody and child support. Mother and A.S. (“Stepfather”) were married in 2005 in Serbia. The family moved to the United States in 2005; Mother and Stepfather separated in 2009.

Mother graduated from law school in May 2012 and took the bar exam in California in July 2012. She and the children intended to relocate to California in September 2012. Stepfather filed a custody complaint and an emergency petition to halt their move. The trial court granted Stepfather’s emergency petition and also entered a temporary custody order granting Mother primary physical custody and Stepfather partial physical custody of the twins.

At a hearing in February 2013, the trial court determined that Stepfather stood in loco parentis to the children and, therefore, he had standing to seek custody of the children. Additionally, the trial court entered an interim order awarding the parties shared physical custody. At a subsequent hearing in April 2013, the trial court entered a final custody order awarding the parties shared physical and shared legal custody of the children.

Soon thereafter, Mother filed a complaint for child support against Stepfather. At the initial support conference, the support master dismissed the complaint, stating that Stepfather had no duty to support the children because he is not their biological father. Prior to this case, in Pennsylvania, a stepparent had no duty to provide for their stepchildren after separation or divorce.

The trial court affirmed the support master’s decision and Mother appealed the decision to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She asked the Court to decide whether Stepfather had a duty of child support and, if so, whether the amount should be determined by Pennsylvania’s guidelines. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision that Stepfather had no duty to pay child support.

Mother then sought review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mother argued that, because Stepfather now had the same legal rights, he also should have the same obligation to support the children.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that if, for example, a stepparent held out his or her stepchild as his or her legal child, the stepparent was deemed by the court to be the legal parent. Similarly, if the stepparent signed an acknowledgement of paternity and treated the child as his own throughout the marriage and after separation, then he could be obligated to pay child support.

Alternatively, the court discussed other situations where a support obligation would not be imposed, such as the mere existence of a relationship between stepparent and child; an acknowledgment of paternity without evidence of a relationship between stepparent and child after separation; establishing in loco parentis standing in order to seek minimal visitation with a child; or where the stepparent helped to support the stepchild during the marriage.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated that “by holding a person such as Stepfather liable for child support, we increase the likelihood that only individuals who are truly dedicated and intend to be a stable fixture in a child’s life will take the steps to litigate and obtain rights equal to those of the child’s parent.”

Additionally, the Court stated that a stepparent who owes a duty of support based on those rights equal to a biological parent would be obligated to pay an amount determined by the guidelines established by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 1610.16-1.

The child support and child custody attorneys at Williams Family Law, P.C. stay informed on changes in the law and are ready to answer your questions regarding all things related to domestic relations including divorce, child custody, and child support. Call our office at 215-340-2207 to discuss your needs with any of our experienced and knowledgeable lawyers.