Kinship: It's All Relative

Assigning relationships within a family tree can quickly become complicated. What is a second cousin twice removed, or a third or fourth cousin once removed? Answers to these questions, and to ones concerning many other possible combinations, are found in this enlarged second edition of a 2002 work. In an informal, somewhat folksy tone, Arnold addresses multiple interpretations of kinship and how changing customs and laws affect our understanding of it. Degrees of kinship are explored within contexts such as marriage, adoption, surrogacy, inheritance (both genetic and worldly goods), naming conventions, and more. Explanatory charts and tables, lists of laws by state, record-agency addresses, and other resource lists are mixed with anecdotes and reflections on past, present, and future interpretations of family—and why understanding familial connections is important. With ten short but information-packed chapters, an epilog, and a handy glossary and index, this edition also offers a "kinship update" exploring same-sex marriage (oddly placed in the back of the book).