The Stranger in the Will: Caring for a Step-Parent You Barely Know

Your dad remarried at 68. Now he’s gone, and you’re the default guardian for a woman who doesn’t remember your name.

Here is a scenario they don’t print on wedding programs. Your father remarried at 67, choosing a lovely woman named Susan whom you saw exactly twice a year at Thanksgiving and a rushed summer barbecue. Fast forward fifteen years: your father has passed away, Susan has mid-stage dementia, and her two biological children have stopped answering their phones. Suddenly, you are the one sitting in a fluorescent-lit office, staring at a $9,500-a-month memory care contract, trying to figure out how this became your job.

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