USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jennifer Jordan McCall, Drew Reitz and Christine Tsai, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Gestational Surrogate Contract A gestational surrogate contract must be made between a commissioning couple and the gestational surrogate. The surrogate must be 18 or older; the cou - ple must be legally married and both 18 or older. The contract is medically allowed if: • the commissioning mother cannot carry a preg - nancy to term; • pregnancy poses a risk to the commissioning mother’s health; or • pregnancy poses a risk to the fetus’ health. If a will does not include provisions for any children born or adopted after the will was made, then those children should receive a share of the estate consist - ent with intestacy requirements, unless: • their omission from the will was intentional; or • the testator had other children when the will was made, left most of the estate to the other parent, and that parent outlived the testator. In Florida, a child conceived from the eggs or sperm of a deceased person may not be eligible to claim against the decedent’s estate unless the decedent’s will specifically provides for the child. In such cir - cumstance, care should be taken to explicitly include future posthumously conceived children as beneficiar - ies in wills or trusts if such children are to inherit in Florida. 9.2 Same-Sex Marriage The US and Florida recognise same-sex marriages.
as a Health Care Surrogate Designation and a Liv - ing Will) is a written document or oral statement in which instructions are given by a principle regarding the designation of a health care surrogate, a living will, or an anatomical gift. The directive should be signed, dated, and witnessed by two people. At least one of the witnesses cannot be a spouse or a blood relative. Statutes prohibit elder financial and personal abuse. 9. Planning for Non-Traditional Families 9.1 Children Adopted Persons An adopted person is considered a descendant of the adopting parent and adopting parent’s family. They are not considered a descendant of their natural par - ents, unless: • a spouse of their natural parent adopts them; or • they are adopted by a close relative. Persons Born Out of Wedlock A person born out of wedlock is considered a descendant of their mother and part of the mother’s family. They are also considered a descendant of their father if: • the natural parents participated in a marriage cer - emony; • the father’s paternity is established by a court rul - ing; or • the father acknowledges paternity in writing. Traditional Surrogacy Any child born within wedlock from donated eggs or pre-embryos is presumed to be the child of the wom - an and her husband if both consent in writing. Donors of eggs, sperm, or preembryos give up all parental rights and obligations regarding the donation and any resulting children. Gestational Surrogacy The surrogate agrees to give up parental rights at birth, and the commissioning couple retains full cus - tody and responsibility for the child. If the child is not genetically related to the couple, the surrogate retains parental rights and responsibilities.
10. Charitable Planning 10.1 Charitable Giving
Federal laws encourage charitable giving in a vari - ety of ways, including generally providing individual donors with a deduction of up to 60% of the individu - al’s adjusted gross income for cash contributions pro - vided to public charities (during tax years 2022–2025, with the deduction currently limited to 50% for sub - sequent years). The limit on noncash contributions, such as stocks, to a public charity is 30% of AGI. The limit on contributions of cash to a private foundation
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