USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Raymond J. Rafool, II, Seth J. Rutman, Kaylin R. Cohen and Melissa L. Kanoff, Rafool, PLLC
Rafool, PLLC 990 Biscayne Boulevard Suite O-301 Miami, Florida 33132 USA Tel: +1 305 567 9400 Fax: +1 305 567 9401 Email: service@rafool.com Web: www.Rafool.com
1. The Care Provider’s Ability to Take Decisions About the Child 1.1 Parental Responsibility Florida’s “parental responsibility” is set out in Sec - tion 61.13 of the Florida Statutes. The statute identi - fies several areas that fall within parental responsibil - ity, including education, health care, and any other responsibilities the court finds unique to a particular family, though the list is not exhaustive. Under Sec - tion 61.13 (2)(c), the court must order shared parental responsibility, meaning both parents retain full rights and responsibilities toward the child, unless doing so would be detrimental to the child. If the court finds that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child, the court can instead order sole parental responsibility, giving one parent sole decision-mak - ing authority without the other parent’s input. Flor - ida courts can also order ultimate decision-making authority, effectively naming one parent the “tiebreak - er” if the parents deadlock on a parental-responsibility issue. 1.2 Requirements for Birth Mothers A woman who gives birth in Florida is the child’s legal parent by operation of law and she automati - cally obtains parental responsibility. She is a “parent” under Section 61.13001 (1)(d) of the Florida Statutes, which extends to a person reflected as a parent on a birth certificate. Further, Florida Statute § 63.032 (12) defines “parent” to include “a woman who gives birth to a child and who is not a gestational surrogate”. Once a dispute arises between the parents concern -
ing a child that that requires court intervention (ie, a dissolution of marriage action, or a paternity action, etc), a court can and must address parental respon - sibility pursuant to the Section 61.13 framework, as
noted in 1.1 Parental Responsibility . 1.3 Requirements for Fathers
Determination of parentage is governed by Chapter 742 of the Florida Statutes. A man married to the birth mother at the time of the child’s birth obtains parental status automatically, through the marital presump - tion of paternity (Fla. Stat. § 382.013 (2)(a)). When the mother is married at birth, the husband’s name goes on the birth certificate as the child’s father, unless a court of competent jurisdiction has already deter - mined paternity otherwise (Fla. Stat. § 382.013 (2)(a)). An unmarried biological father, by contrast, has no automatic parental rights at birth. Florida law requires him to take affirmative steps to establish both legal paternity and parental responsibility (Fla. Stat. § 63.053; Fla. Stat. § 742.011). Florida Statute § 742.10 (1) lays the foundation for establishing pater - nity for children born out of wedlock. For challenged paternity actions, establishing paternity alone is not enough; under § 742.10 (5), parental responsibility must be established through a separate action under § 742.011. From there, the court applies the § 61.13 framework discussed in 1.1 Parental Responsibility . However, where the acknowledgement of paternity is unchallenged, and the parties voluntarily execute an affidavit or stipulation of paternity, no judicial or
162 C HILD RELOC AT I ON 20 26
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook