Kinship Adoption in Florida

Kinship adoption is a court proceeding in which a relative becomes the legal parent of a child. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, and other qualifying family members can adopt a grandchild, niece, nephew, or sibling through a streamlined process under Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes. The adoption grants the relative full parental rights, terminates the biological parents’ rights, and produces a new birth certificate listing the adoptive relative as the child’s parent.

Florida law treats kinship adoptions differently from standard adoptions. The process does not require a home study, allows termination of parental rights and finalization in a single hearing, and costs significantly less than private or agency adoption. Most kinship adoptions are completed within two to three months when the biological parents consent.

What Is Kinship Adoption

A kinship adoption—also called a relative adoption, grandparent adoption, or family adoption—is a legal proceeding that transfers all parental rights from the biological parents to a qualifying relative. Once finalized, the adopting relative has the same legal authority as a biological parent, including the right to make medical, educational, and financial decisions for the child.

The adopted child gains full inheritance rights from the adoptive parent and loses inheritance rights from the biological parents whose rights were terminated. The adoption is permanent and cannot be reversed by the biological parents.

Who Can Adopt a Relative in Florida

Florida law defines a qualifying relative as someone related to the child by blood within the third degree of consanguinity. Qualifying relatives include grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, nieces, and nephews.

Great-aunts, great-uncles, and cousins fall within the fourth degree of consanguinity and do not qualify for the streamlined kinship adoption process. A fourth-degree relative can still adopt, but the adoption must proceed under standard non-relative procedures, which require a home study, a waiting period, and additional paperwork.

The adopting relative can be single or married. If married, both spouses must petition jointly. Florida imposes no age limit on the adopting relative, and grandparents are not disqualified by advanced age as long as the court finds the adoption serves the child’s best interest.

Requirements for Kinship Adoption

Residency. The minor child must have lived in Florida for at least six months before the petition is filed. There is no residency requirement for the adopting relative.

Fitness. The adopting relative must be financially and morally capable of caring for the child. A criminal record involving certain offenses, a history of abuse or neglect, or active substance abuse may disqualify a petitioner.

Consent. The biological parents generally must consent to the adoption through a signed, notarized document. If a biological parent refuses to consent, the court may still permit the adoption if grounds exist to terminate that parent’s rights. If the child is 12 or older, the child must also consent.

Marital status. A single relative may adopt. A married relative must file jointly with their spouse.

Advantages Over Standard Adoption

Florida law gives kinship adoptions several procedural advantages over standard adoptions:

• No home study required. Standard adoptions require a home study conducted by a licensed agency or social worker. Kinship adoptions by relatives within the third degree are exempt unless the family is pursuing a state subsidy.
• No waiting period. Standard adoptions require a placement period before finalization. Kinship adoptions do not.
• Unified proceeding. Termination of the biological parents’ rights and finalization of the adoption can occur in a single hearing rather than two separate proceedings.
• Lower cost. The absence of a home study and the streamlined procedures make kinship adoptions significantly less expensive than standard or private adoptions.

Consent and Termination of Parental Rights

The biological parents generally must consent to the adoption. Consent is a signed, notarized document in which the parent voluntarily gives up parental rights.

If a biological parent refuses to consent, the court may still permit the adoption if grounds exist to terminate that parent’s rights involuntarily. The most common basis is abandonment, which Florida law defines as a situation in which the parent makes little or no provision for the child’s support and little or no effort to communicate with the child while able to do so. Other grounds include neglect, abuse, incapacity, and incarceration.

Proving abandonment or unfitness without the parent’s consent makes the adoption significantly more complex and extends the timeline by several months. If a biological parent is deceased, the death certificate is submitted with the petition in place of consent.

Steps in the Process

1. File the petition. The relative files a petition for adoption in the circuit court of the county where the child resides or where the attorney is located. The petition identifies the child, the adopting relative, the biological parents, and the grounds for adoption.
2. Obtain consent or pursue termination. If the biological parents consent, their signed forms are filed with the petition. If consent cannot be obtained, the attorney evaluates whether grounds exist to proceed without it and files for involuntary termination of parental rights.
3. File required documents. The petition must include a UCCJEA affidavit confirming the child’s residency history, an Indian Child Welfare Act affidavit, the child’s birth certificate, and copies of any prior court orders concerning custody or support.
4. Attend the final hearing. The court schedules a hearing before a judge. If all requirements are met and the judge finds the adoption serves the child’s best interest, the judge enters a final judgment of adoption. Most hearings last five to ten minutes.
5. Obtain an amended birth certificate. After the final judgment, the attorney submits paperwork to the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics. The new birth certificate lists the adopting relative as the parent.

Adopting a Niece, Nephew, or Sibling

A kinship adoption is not limited to grandparents. Aunts, uncles, and adult siblings are all within the third degree of consanguinity and qualify for the same streamlined procedures. An aunt or uncle who has been raising a niece or nephew informally has no guaranteed legal right to continue if the biological parent reasserts parental rights. Adoption makes the arrangement permanent.

The process for adopting a niece, nephew, or sibling is identical to a grandparent adoption. The same exemption from the home study requirement applies, the same consent rules govern, and the same cost and timeline apply. The only additional consideration is that a sibling must be at least 18 years old to petition as the adopting relative.

Grandparent Adoption

Grandparent adoption is the most common form of kinship adoption in Florida. Many grandparents raise grandchildren for years in an informal arrangement and want to formalize the relationship through adoption.

A grandparent adoption provides permanent legal custody that cannot be revoked by the biological parents. Without an adoption, even a grandparent who has raised a child for years has no guaranteed legal right to continue doing so if the biological parent returns and reasserts parental rights.

Florida law does not impose any upper age limit on grandparent adoption. The court’s only concern is whether the adoption serves the child’s best interest.

Kinship Adoption vs. Guardianship

Kinship adoption and guardianship serve different purposes and have different legal effects.

	Kinship Adoption	Guardianship
Duration	Permanent	Temporary or revocable
Parental rights	Full parental rights	Limited authority
Biological parents’ rights	Terminated	Not terminated
Inheritance	Child inherits from adoptive parent	No inheritance rights created
Court involvement	One-time proceeding	Ongoing court supervision

Guardianship may be appropriate as a temporary arrangement while the family evaluates long-term options. Adoption is the appropriate step when the relative intends to raise the child permanently.

Cost and Timeline

A kinship adoption in Florida typically costs between $2,500 and $3,500 as a flat attorney fee. That fee generally covers the petition, all required documents, the final hearing, and the amended birth certificate.

The adopting relative may qualify for the federal adoption tax credit, which reduces income tax by the amount of qualified adoption expenses. Stepparent adoptions do not qualify for the adoption tax credit, but kinship adoptions do.

If the biological parents consent, the process takes approximately two to three months. Most of that time is spent waiting for a hearing date with the assigned judge. Contested adoptions take longer because of the additional proceedings required to terminate parental rights involuntarily.

Kinship Adoption Without an Attorney

Florida counties provide free adoption forms for stepparent adoptions, but most counties do not have ready-made forms for kinship adoptions. Kinship cases involve different petition requirements, different consent rules, and potentially involuntary termination proceedings that go beyond what standardized forms address. Attempting a kinship adoption without an attorney creates a meaningful risk of procedural errors that can delay or derail the case.

Adult Kinship Adoption

If the person being adopted is 18 or older, the adoption proceeds as an adult adoption. Adult kinship adoptions are even simpler because the biological parents’ consent is not required, no home study is needed, and there is no residency requirement. A grandparent or other relative who did not complete a kinship adoption while the child was a minor can formalize the relationship through adult adoption at any time.