USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Raymond J. Rafool, II, Seth J. Rutman, Kaylin R. Cohen and Melissa L. Kanoff, Rafool, PLLC
administrative proceeding is needed to ratify the paternity status (Fla. Stat. § 742.10 (5)). 1.4 Requirements for Non-Genetic Parents Non-genetic parental requirements turn on what type of “non-genetic parent” is seeking parental responsi - bility. A stepparent’s only path to parental responsibil - ity is through stepparent adoption under Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes. That requires the other biological parent’s rights be terminated first, either through that parent’s voluntary consent and waiver or by a court order terminating rights on statutory grounds (Fla. Stat. §§ 63.062, 63.082, and 63.089). The steppar - ent and the biological parent-spouse then file a joint petition for adoption (Fla. Stat. § 63.087 (3)), and the court enters a final judgment of stepparent adoption under Section 63.172. Once that judgment is entered, the stepparent becomes the child’s legal parent with full parental responsibility. For a preplanned adoption, the biological mother has 48 hours after the child’s birth to rescind her consent and assume maternal rights (Fla. Stat. § 63.213). If the biological mother does not do so, the intended parents obtain parental responsibility through a final judgment of adoption once the remaining statutory requirements are satisfied (Fla. Stat. § 63.172; Fla. Stat. § 63.213). 1.5 Relevance of Marriage at Point of Conception or Birth See 1.3 Requirements for Fathers above. In short, when a child is born during a marriage, Florida law recognises the husband as the child’s legal father pur - suant to Section 382.013 (2)(a), Florida Statutes. 1.6 Same-Sex Relationships Following Obergefell v Hodges , 576 U.S. 644 (2015), same-sex married couples are entitled to the same parental rights and legal recognition as opposite-sex married couples under Florida law. If the couple was married at the time of adoption, or one parent already has a child from a prior relation - ship, see 1.4 Requirements for Non-Genetic Parents . Excluding same-sex couples from adopting is uncon - stitutional. Fla . Dep ’ t of Child . & Fams . v Adoption of X . X . G ., 45 So. 3d 79 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010).
Where a couple is married at the time of the child’s birth (conceived via assisted reproduction during the marriage), if they jointly consent in writing to artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation, donated eggs, or donated pre-embryos, the child is legally considered the child of both spouses (Fla. Stat. § 742.11). This applies even when the child is not genetically related to one or both spouses because of the use of donor genetic material. The written consent of both spouses is therefore significant in establishing their legal paren - tal relationship to the child (Fla. Stat. § 742.11). 1.7 Adoption Courts in Florida must have clear and convincing evi - dence to terminate the biological relationship, which can be established in many ways. After 48 hours have passed following the child’s birth, a biological mother may sign a consent for adoption and voluntarily sur - render her parental rights to the child. In this case, the birth or legal father may also execute an affidavit of non-paternity at any time waiving any rights to the child. Adoptive parents obtain full parental responsi - bility through a final judgment of adoption under Sec - tion 63.172 of the Florida Statutes. That judgment terminates the legal relationship between the child and the birth parents, except a birth parent who is the adopting parent’s spouse, and creates a parent- child relationship as though the child had been born to the adoptive parent. The Florida Bar provides a comprehensive pamphlet on adoptions and the steps required to facilitate an adoption.
2. Relocation 2.1 Whose Consent Is Required for Relocation?
Florida’s relocation statute is Section 61.13001, Flor - ida Statutes. However, the relocation statute only applies once a petition is filed to establish or modify time-sharing of a child, meaning that if there is no case pending or if there is no judgment or order estab - lishing or modifying time-sharing previously entered, a parent can theoretically relocate anywhere in the world with their child without the consent of anyone, subject of course to kidnapping statutes and other applicable statutes.
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