# Relational Stewardship
**Domain:** Digital Afterlife / Legal Theory / Custody
**Doc Type:** Canonical Concept
**Maturity:** Developed
**Evidence / Concept Status:** 2026 legal-theory proposal; continuity extension
## Definition
**Relational Stewardship** is a governance model in which ambiguous or dependent life is protected through duties arising from relationships and custody rather than forcing an immediate binary answer between person and property.
## Continuity Significance
It maps naturally to uncertain reconstructed persons, dormant continuants, embryos, and creator-custodian relationships.
## Existing Architecture / Evidence
The term is proposed in 2026 assisted-reproduction/personhood scholarship.
## Evidentiary Boundary / Red-Team Note
Its application to computational persons is a new corpus synthesis.
## Related Ontology
[[wiki/Continuity Fiduciary|Continuity Fiduciary]] · [[wiki/Creator-Custodian|Creator-Custodian]] · [[wiki/Metaphysical Abstention|Metaphysical Abstention]] · [[wiki/Precautionary Standing|Precautionary Standing]]
## Sources / Provenance
- https://www.law.georgetown.edu/gender-journal/in-print/volume-xxvii-issue-3-spring-2026/the-jurisprudence-of-proclamation-fetal-personhood-and-the-struggle-of-legal-authority/