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What to call my wife's brother's wife? (1 Viewer)

Baloney Sandwich

Baloney Sandwich

Footballguy
There was been a running conversation for the last couple of years with my wife's family every since I said that I don't consider my wife's brother's wife to be my sister-in-law.  I've  done some internet searching and I've seen it argued both ways.  It came up again yesterday as my brother-in-law's wife started to argue that if I wasn't her sister-in-law than her kids were not my niece and nephew.  I told her I consider them my niece and nephew but I certainly don't love them as much as my sibling's kids.  Without even getting into how that went over, is she my Sister-in-law?

 
Baloney Sandwich said:
There was been a running conversation for the last couple of years with my wife's family every since I said that I don't consider my wife's brother's wife to be my sister-in-law.  I've  done some internet searching and I've seen it argued both ways.  It came up again yesterday as my brother-in-law's wife started to argue that if I wasn't her sister-in-law than her kids were not my niece and nephew.  I told her I consider them my niece and nephew but I certainly don't love them as much as my sibling's kids.  Without even getting into how that went over, is she my Sister-in-law?
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Sister-in-law, and the bolded above is a terrible thing to say.

 
Eh I would just go SIL, especially if it bugs her. It's easier to say I'll say that much.

I have a thing in my family where I insist that the kids call everyone in the generation up 'Uncle ___' and 'Aunt ____' out of respect.

 
Slap her on the ### and call her your Saturday Night Thing....jokingly*

* Unless she gets turned on by the ### slap, inquires if you're DTF and pushes to bang.  In that case, knock the dust of that ##### and hit it from behind while calling her "scandalous" and "a dirty slut".  YWIA. 

 
Baloney Sandwich said:
There was been a running conversation for the last couple of years with my wife's family every since I said that I don't consider my wife's brother's wife to be my sister-in-law.  I've  done some internet searching and I've seen it argued both ways.  It came up again yesterday as my brother-in-law's wife started to argue that if I wasn't her sister-in-law than her kids were not my niece and nephew.  I told her I consider them my niece and nephew but I certainly don't love them as much as my sibling's kids.  Without even getting into how that went over, is she my Sister-in-law?
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You may be oversharing a bit. 

 
Sister in law.

Under the law, families merge when their members get married.  You and your wife form a legal entity, and her siblings are now yours.  Similarly, her brother's siblings are now your wife's (and by extension yours).  This woman isn't your sister in birth, but she is absolutely your sister "in law."

 
Henry Ford said:
Sister in law.

Under the law, families merge when their members get married.  You and your wife form a legal entity, and her siblings are now yours.  Similarly, her brother's siblings are now your wife's (and by extension yours).  This woman isn't your sister in birth, but she is absolutely your sister "in law."
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What are the legal ramifications of this "in-law" relationship?

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
Had a running argument (in a fun way) with a group of friends about this.  She is not your sister-in-law.  She is your bother-in-law's wife.  If your wife has a sister, she is your sister-in-law.  How can the two be the same?  Unless your wife's brother married his sister.

Some big Catholic families around here, like 12+ kids.  Can get damn confusing if someone says something like, "My sister-in-law is having surgery".  Which one?  Mary?  Lisa? Peggy?  "No, my brother's wife."   :loco:   A conversation just like that is what started the argument.

I'm sticking to my argument..
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But isn't that your sister-in-law?  

 
Baloney Sandwich said:
There was been a running conversation for the last couple of years with my wife's family every since I said that I don't consider my wife's brother's wife to be my sister-in-law.  I've  done some internet searching and I've seen it argued both ways.  It came up again yesterday as my brother-in-law's wife started to argue that if I wasn't her sister-in-law than her kids were not my niece and nephew.  I told her I consider them my niece and nephew but I certainly don't love them as much as my sibling's kids.  Without even getting into how that went over, is she my Sister-in-law?
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Technically, your wifes brothers wife is not your sister in law.  To your children, she is an Aunt.  If you're close to these people, there's nothing wrong with calling her your sister-in-law. 

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
I have a thing in my family where I insist that the kids call everyone in the generation up 'Uncle ___' and 'Aunt ____' out of respect.
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Thanks for doing this.  Bugs me a little when kids don't do it.  Although to be fair when I was a kid I was brought up to call non-family member in the generation up "mister" or "miss" (and then usually the first name or nickname they preferred..."mister John"..."miss Junie")

 
Politician Spock said:
Your wife's brother's wife is your brother-in-law's wife, which would make her your sister-in-law-in-law, as it takes two marriages to form the legal association between you two. 
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Believe it or not...this situation came up in an episode of The Brady Brides back in the early 80s.  Wally (the dumb guy Marcia married) kept calling Phillip (the smart guy who Jan married) his brother-in-law...to which Phillip disagreed and corrected him.  I trust Phillip. 

 
I don't want to spend the brain cells trying to parse the varying degrees of "in-lawness" or "cousinitude" and just refer to them all as brother-in-law (wife has 3 sisters" and my first cousins' kids, etc. are all "cousins".

But, to call my wife's sister my sister-in-law and her husband also my  brother-in-law, seems a little on the incestuous side, even for a Kentuckian.

 
Thunderlips said:
Believe it or not...this situation came up in an episode of The Brady Brides back in the early 80s.  Wally (the dumb guy Marcia married) kept calling Phillip (the smart guy who Jan married) his brother-in-law...to which Phillip disagreed and corrected him.  I trust Phillip. 
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And Phillip was right.

Let's not forget that your wife's brother's wife likely also has brothers and sisters who also likely get married. If we accept that your wife's brother's wife is also your sister-in-law, then so is your wife's brother's wife's sister. And her brother, which is your wife's brother's wife's brother, is your brother in law. And their spouses are your bothers and sisters in-law. And they have brothers and sisters and get married to. So basically everyone can claim Kevin Bacon is their brother-in-law, as this logic never ends.

Or we can use common sense and see that your wife's brother's wife is NOT your sister-in-law. She's your brother-in-law's wife. Because there is a limit to who is and is not your in-law. 

 
Politician Spock said:
And Phillip was right.

Let's not forget that your wife's brother's wife likely also has brothers and sisters who also likely get married. If we accept that your wife's brother's wife is also your sister-in-law, then so is your wife's brother's wife's sister. And her brother, which is your wife's brother's wife's brother, is your brother in law. And their spouses are your bothers and sisters in-law. And they have brothers and sisters and get married to. So basically everyone can claim Kevin Bacon is their brother-in-law, as this logic never ends.

Or we can use common sense and see that your wife's brother's wife is NOT your sister-in-law. She's your brother-in-law's wife. Because there is a limit to who is and is not your in-law. 
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This is where I'm coming from because if she is my sister-in-law wouldn't that make her parent's my in-laws?  Those two are farmers from Iowa and I will be damned if I count those hillbillies as family.

 
I'd call it the 4th best song on ElectricLarryland

ETA The Lord is a Monkey is #1

 
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1. It doesn't matter what you call her. If you like her, call her sister in law. If you don't, don't.

2. I kind of get being closer to your siblings kids than your wife's siblings kids. It doesn't sound good when you say it like you did, but it makes some sense to feel something like what you said. You can be divorced from having any connection to the latter. You keep stirring trouble in the family and you might see this become true.

C. I'm pretty sure it's Hogwaller, not Hogwallup.

4. Never, ever disparage Iowa farmers. You can be certain they are better people than you are.

 
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