Stepping up When Non-resident Parents Fall Short: Stepparents’ Take-up of Financial Responsibility for Stepchildren – Evidence from German Taxpayer Data

Abstract This article delineates the distinctions between the extant types of stepfamilies in Germany, with a particular focus on the financial responsibility of stepparents towards their minor stepchildren. By revealing the extent to which stepparent households shoulder this responsibility, we simultaneously uncover the inability or unwillingness of non-resident parents to provide financial support for their biological children. The likelihood of a stepfather assuming financial responsibility for his stepchildren – that is, stepping in for a non-resident father – is about 21 percentage points higher than that of stepmothers and 22 percentage points higher than that of stepparents in complex stepfamilies. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that the likelihood of non-resident fathers providing support is contingent on the number of children in the stepfamily.