USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jennifer Jordan McCall, Drew Reitz, Christine Tsai and Maria Williams, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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 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; parental rights and responsibilities. Gestational Surrogate Contract
sight. This oversight is achieved mainly by an annual guardianship plan. This requires each guardian to file a report with the court regarding updated information about the condition of the ward. This report specifies the current needs of the ward and how those needs are proposed to be met in the coming year. Ultimately, the court has discretion to require re-examination of the ward at any time, and continually monitors the guardian-ward relationship. Conservatorship The court oversees conservatorships, including: • terminating the conservatorship and transferring property back to the absentee or their representa - tive upon request; • terminating the conservatorship if the absentee is confirmed deceased, and transferring property to the appointed executor or administrator; • requiring the conservator to file final returns and an application for discharge when the conservatorship ends; • reviewing and approving the conservator’s final returns and discharge; and • conducting hearings if there are objections to the conservator’s returns. Care must be taken to ensure that a conservatorship is only employed where appropriate; recently it has been used in contentious settings, such as for pur - poses of gaining control over a spouse and his or her assets in a failing marriage. 8.3 Planning for Incapacity Florida law provides for several legal mechanisms designed to assist individuals in planning for poten - tial mental incapacity. Commonly used tools include durable powers of attorney and healthcare surrogate designations. 8.4 Elder Law No response provided in this jurisdiction.
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