Sue Shellenbarger

Wall Street Journal

I have been incredibly fortunate as a stepmother. Years ago, I gained three wonderful stepchildren by marriage, when they were 4, 8 and 9. Their dad has always been extremely supportive of my efforts to be a positive contributor to their lives, and their mother has become one of my best friends.

Even with all that going for us, managing our financial roles as breadwinners in a stepfamily was confusing, uncharted terrain. My kids’ father and I struggled with plenty of gnarly questions about money as our kids grew up: Who pays for what in a second marriage with children involved? Should I as a stepmother contribute to child-support payments? How about my stepkids’ college costs? Do the answers to those questions change after my husband and I have children of our own?

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/07/28/stepfamilies-face-thorny-financial-challenges/