I'll try some of these:
2. If a man marries a woman with a son and they later divorce, can he get joint custody of the kid, even though, biologically, it's not his?
Has he adopted the child? Otherwise, I'd say no.
3. If two people are going for a common-law marriage and the husband disappears (being pronounced legally dead) shortly after his "bride" moves in, can she still claim the rights to their stuff, since she's technically his widow? What if she's pregnant; (how) would that affect things?
As far as I know two people have to live together for a time (two or three years) before the union is considered a common law marriage. So the "bride" has to be around for a while.
It would be interesting to find out what would be the law if two people told others that their intention was to live together as husband and wife, but they did not believe in either a formal religious or civil marriage. Would that speed up the common law rights of the couple? I don't know.
If she's pregnant, then the off-spring is his and is an heir to his "fortune".
4. Why aren't there more Jimmy-fics? And where are all the ones that do exist?
I don't know, but you could look at Nan's Mystery series where Jimmy has an important part.
Mystery Getting to Know You Faces 5. If a mother is in an accident and camatose, and the father has a mental health issue causing him to be considered unable to look after the child himself, how much time will elapse between the accident and the Social Services descending upon the house like a flock of vultures on carion?
That depends on a lot of factors. Is there anyone else in the immediate family to care for the child? Are the father's mental health issues known at the time? Social services aren't going to leave the child without anyone to care for her. And why such a negative attitude to social services?
6. Is 7 kids really a ludicrous number for L&C to have?
It's your story and you can give them as many children as you want. Having said that, ask Nan (who I think has five or six) how ludicrous or practical the number is.
8. Do you think a retarded child would be *more* likely or *less* likely to figure out CK=S? A deaf child? Blind?
I always wondered why no one guessed that CK=S by his voice, so I think a blind child could. Also, a deaf child might focus on something that is the same--hands, lips. Again, it's your story, so you can play with it.
That's all for now.
gerry
