Florida Step Parent Adoption
Under Florida law, a step parent adoption gives a married person full and equal parental rights and responsibilities over his or her stepchild. The legal effect of the step parent adoption is granted by a court order called a Final Judgment of Step Parent Adoption. The result of the adoption judgment is that the adopting parent becomes just as much of a parent as his or her spouse. It is as if the child was born to the natural parent and the step parent. The birth certificate is amended to reflect the names of the step parent and the natural parent.
A stepparent adoption legalizes the parental relationship that is already place. In most cases the adopting stepparent already fully acts as if he (or she) is the parent of the child being adopted. The stepparent adoption just makes it official and legally valid. This solidifies the relationship between the child and the adopting parent.
In Florida, adoption law is governed by Chapter 63 of the Florida statutes.
The first step of an step parent adoption in Florida is determining whether the stepparent is eligible to adopt. As long as the person can be an effective parent and is married to a legal parent of the child, the person should be able to legally adopt.
The court case starts by filing a petition for adoption. The petitioner is the stepparent–the person who is adopting the child–who is then joined by the spouse of the stepparent. To file a step parent adoption in Florida, the petition must include:
- Birth date and place of birth of the child.
- The name that should be given to the child, if the child’s name is being changed.
- Statement of how long the stepparent has lived with the child.
- Reasons why the stepparent wants to adopt the child.
Filing the petition starts the process. Then the absent parent has a chance to oppose the adoption. If the absent parent does not contest the adoption or if the absent parent has consented, then the court will finalize the adoption, which will give the child a new birth certificate showing the child’s new name and parents.
Questions About Stepparent Adoption
Most attorneys helping people with a step-parent adoption will charge a flat fee between $2,000 and $4,000. The flat fee is typically only for an uncontested case with consents from the existing legal parents.
For most situations, a person must adopt a step-child in order to have any parental rights to that child. In other words, a person that is married to another person who has a child does not have any legal rights to that child simply because of the marriage. It is not your child until you complete a step-parent adoption.
A stepparent does not have an independent right to adopt. Instead, in most circumstances the stepparent must have the consent of the biological parent whose rights are being terminated. However, the need for the consent may waived in some situations where that person cannot be found or has abandoned the child.
Regardless, the consent of the stepparent’s spouse always required.
Florida law defines abandonment as a situation in which the parent, while being able, makes little or no provision for the child’s support or makes little or no effort to communicate with the child. The situation must demonstrate an intent to reject parental responsibilities.
Furthermore, if the adoption judge determines that the efforts of such parent to support and communicate with the child are only marginal efforts that do not evince a settled purpose to assume all parental duties, the judge may declare the child to be abandoned.
There is no statutory time limit on how long a father has to be absent for the situation to be considered abandonment. The judge in the adoption case will look at the facts and situation as a whole.
Your husband can adopt your child in Florida through a stepparent adoption. As a result of the step-parent adoption, you and your husband will become equal legal parents over the child. The birth certificate will then be changed to show both you and your husband as the parents.
About one to two months. This timeline applies if all the parties are available and the absent parent consents to the adoption, assuming the adoption is filed in the Orlando area.
You do not need to live in Orlando to hire an Orlando stepparent adoption attorney. We represent couples throughout the state of Florida. The only time you will need to come to central Florida is for the final hearing of adoption. Everything else, including the initial consultation, can be done remotely.
Usually you do not have to tell grandparents about the stepparent adoption, but sometimes circumstances do require notifying the grandparent. Generally, the grandparents are notified only if the child has lived with a grandparent for at least six months within the last two years before the filing of the stepparent adoption.
How to Complete a Stepparent Adoption in Florida
A stepparent adoption in Florida requires the following steps:
1. Consent
The first part of a stepparent adoption is for the non-custodial parent to give consent. For example, if you are the biological mother and wish for your husband or wife to adopt through a stepparent adoption, then the biological father generally must consent to the adoption. If the non-custodial parent objects to the adoption, you’ll have to work with your attorney to overcome those objections.
Under Florida law, consent can sometimes be waived. A judge can waive consent under the following circumstances:
- When a parent has abandoned a child.
- When a parent has already had their rights terminated.
- When a parent has been declared incompetent and the parent is not likely to get better.
So sometimes the consent of the absent biological parent is not required. We can work with you to determine whether or not you need to obtain consent.
Usually the child being adopted must also consent if he or she is 12 or older. In some less common situations, other people must consent as well.
2. Adoption Petition
A Petition for Stepparent Adoption is the formal request for the Court to grant the adoption and give parental rights to the stepparent. The petitioner, which is the stepparent asking for parental rights, files the petition along with several other supporting documents legally required under Florida law.
The filing of this petition is what opens the case before the Court.
3. Schedule a Hearing
Once the petition for the stepparent adoption in Orlando is filed, you’ll find out which judge is assigned to your case. From there, it is just a matter of scheduling a time with your attorney and the judge’s availability for a final hearing on the adoption. If you’re working with us, we’ll then send you a Notice of Hearing of the scheduled time.
4. Hearing
The hearing is a formal, but friendly, meeting with the judge after which he or she will rule on the adoption. Usually the hearing takes 5-10 minutes, and the judge will ask a few questions to make sure that everyone wants the adoption to happen and the procedures were followed. After the hearing, the adoption will be finalized and the stepparent will have full legal rights to the child.
All of the stepparent adoption judges in Orlando, Florida, area are friendly–the adoptions are usually the highlight of their day. The judgment entered at the hearing is what grants the stepparent with full parental rights. Specifically, the effect of the adoption judgment is outlined by section 63.172 of Florida law:
A judgment of adoption, whether entered by a court of this state, another state, or of any other place, has the following effect:
Section 63.172 of the Florida Statutes.
(a) It relieves the birth parents of the adopted person, except a birth parent who is a petitioner or who is married to a petitioner, of all parental rights and responsibilities.
(b) It terminates all legal relationships between the adopted person and the adopted person’s relatives, including the birth parents, except a birth parent who is a petitioner or who is married to a petitioner, so that the adopted person thereafter is a stranger to his or her former relatives for all purposes, including the interpretation or construction of documents, statutes, and instruments, whether executed before or after entry of the adoption judgment, that do not expressly include the adopted person by name or by some designation not based on a parent and child or blood relationship, except that rights of inheritance shall be as provided in the Florida Probate Code.
(c) Except for rights of inheritance, it creates the relationship between the adopted person and the petitioner and all relatives of the petitioner that would have existed if the adopted person were a blood descendant of the petitioner born within wedlock. This relationship shall be created for all purposes, including applicability of statutes, documents, and instruments, whether executed before or after entry of the adoption judgment, that do not expressly exclude an adopted person from their operation or effect.
(2) If one or both parents of a child die without the relationship of parent and child having been previously terminated and a spouse of the living parent or a close relative of the child thereafter adopts the child, the child’s right of inheritance from or through the deceased parent is unaffected by the adoption and, unless the court orders otherwise, the adoption will not terminate any grandparent rights delineated under Chapter 752. For purposes of this subsection, a close relative of a child is the child’s brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, or uncle.
5. Obtain New Birth Certificates
Once the adoption is finalized, you can apply for amended birth certificates that list the new mother or father. The old birth certificates will be sealed. If you’re working with us as your attorney, we do this for you.
Birth Father’s Rights
If a birth parent still has parental rights over the child, then in most cases the Court must conclude that either that birth parent has consented to the adoption or that person’s consent is not necessary.
We try to identify first if consent from the birth parent is even necessary; if it is not, we can continue with the adoption. If it is necessary then we must attempt to obtain consent from the birth parent.
Contested Adoptions
If we cannot get the absent parent to consent to the stepparent adoption, the best option may be to file to terminate the parental rights of the absent parent. Under Florida Statute §63.064, termination of parental rights of the absent parent is generally allowed if that parent has either:
- Abandoned the child.
- Been declared incompetent.
If you don’t know where the birth father or mother is, then Florida law lists several steps that you must take to try and locate the birth parent before proceeding with the adoption.
Consent is generally not necessary if
- The parent has executed a surrender document witnessed by two witnesses
- The parent has abandoned the child
- The parent has engaged in behavior that endangers the life, safety, well-being, or health of the child
- The parent is incarcerated for a certain period of time
- A child has been adjudicated dependent and the parent has not complied with the case plan filed with the court
- The parent has engaged in “egregious conduct” that threatened the health and well-being of the child or a sibling of the child.
In addition, not every parent must consent to the adoption. Under Florida law, the only individuals required to consent generally are (1) the mother of the child, (2) the father of the child if the child was born while the father was married to the mother, the child is the father’s by a prior adoption, the child has been adjudicated by the court to be the father’s child, the father has filed an affidavit of paternity or is listed on the child’s birth certificate, or finally, if the father has filed an acknowledgment of paternity in the Florida putative father registry. But note that Florida court decisions may alter the list of who must consent to an adoption.
Should we find the parent whose rights are to be terminated, we must serve a copy of the adoption documents. Serving the documents is a particular method of giving the required papers to the person using the procedure that Florida law required.
In general, there are four ways to serve any person:
- personal service
- by mail
- hand delivery
- constructive service
For adoptions, personal service means delivering a copy of the adoption petition by a sheriff’s deputy or private process server to the parent. All petitions must be served by personal service. However, if the parent cannot be found, Florida law generally allows us to serve the parent whose rights are being terminated by constructive service. Constructive service means service by publication–a legal notice is posted in a court approved publication (certain newspapers).
Same-Sex Couples
With the legalization of gay marriage throughout Florida, stepparent adoption is now available for same-sex couples as well. As of January 2015, same-sex couples are now able to get married so gay and lesbian couples can adopt the child of their same-sex spouse. Previously, gay and lesbian couples would have to go through a slightly different process called a second parent adoption.
Can Someone Challenge the Adoption?
Generally nobody can challenge the adoption after one year (but there are a few exceptions). The relevant section is 63.142 of the Florida Statutes:
At the conclusion of the hearing, after the court determines that the date for a parent to file an appeal of a valid judgment terminating that parent’s parental rights has passed and no appeal, pursuant to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, is pending and that the adoption is in the best interest of the person to be adopted, a judgment of adoption shall be entered. A judgment terminating parental rights pending adoption is voidable and any later judgment of adoption of that minor is voidable if, upon a parent’s motion for relief from judgment, the court finds that the adoption substantially fails to meet the requirements of this chapter. The motion must be filed within a reasonable time, but not later than 1 year after the date the judgment terminating parental rights was entered.
Section 63.142 of Florida Law.
Page last updated on March 3, 2021
I have a son (14), my husband is the only father he has known since birth. His biological father is an alcoholic with whom we do not associate with. My husband and son have talked about adopting for years and decided to start the process in September 2019. we had started it and my husband was hospitalized several times throughout the years with liver failure and then transplanted in 2015, due to family disease. He recently was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension in August and that is why we started it sooner with adoption process. He passed on Feb 28th 2020. Is there ANYWAY to continue with this since my son wants to see his dads name on his BC and he is his father by all rights?
since he is not legally listed as his adopted father, he does not have any rights to survivor benefits from his dad, ho raised him. IF not then we will stick with change of his name. My husband was listed in our wills as father and his last wishes were to adopt our son.
thank you
Hi Amy, he would not be able to continue with the adoption, sorry. But you could change your son’s name.
How much does it usually cost for an adoption case.
Please contact us directly at [email protected] so we can first make sure we can help you and can go over the costs.
I am a single mother of a 3 year old girl. I recently married my husband back in February of this year and he has been her father since she was 10 months old. We wish that he can adopt my daughter and become her legal parent. Her biological dad has never had right, been in contact, supplied anything an is not on birth certificate whatsoever. Whay steps do I need to take to go further?
Hi Donnette, I emailed you separately with some more information.
My husband would like to adopt my 30-year-old daughter (his step daughter). We have been married for 25 years now. He would have liked to have adopted both of my daughters after we were married, but their birth father (who lives in another state) was emphatic that he would refuse to give consent for such a petition, even though he was 100% absent throughout their lives and completely non-supportive.
My question is, would we be required by law to provide my ex-husband with a notice of adoption proceedings (ie: petition filed), even though he has never been involved in my daughter’s life – especially now that she is an adult?
In the past, my ex used to harass us and just try to cause problems. I am concerned that providing him with our current personal information (names, address, phone number, etc.) may invite unnecessary problems or aggravation. In addition to this, we do not have his contact information – nor have we attempted to find it, as it has proven best to leave him completely alone.
Please advise!
Yes, required to notice. Consent not required though. For more information about the process and costs, please contact us directly.
Hi, I am soon marrying the man that has raised my daughter from the time she was 4 weeks old, her “bio” has been in and out, often going 8 months without contact. Can my soon to be husband adopt my daughter without the “bio” dads consent?
Possibly. Depends on level of emotional and financial support from bio dad. Several other factors too we’d have to discuss in phone call.
So if I were to be married and my husband adopt my child, he would have just as much say legally? And if we to split what would occur then?
If someone completes a stepparent adoption, it would be as if the child was born to the biological parent and the adopting parent. A divorce would be just as if the child was the natural child of both of you
My son is now 15 and my husband has been raising him since he was 4. We have lived in FL now for about 7 years. His bio dad is not on the birth certificate, has never been in my son’s life, and we have no clue where he is or how to contact him. He has the most generic of names and we have not been able to find him. How difficult would the adoption process be for us?
Can definitely help you with this. Please contact us to go over the process.
I am 19 years old, For my stepfather’s birthday I want to give him a surprise. My surprise would be that I want him to adopted me but I want to know if there is any step in order for him and me to do to adopted me. I want to know the steps because I am over 18 Years old but I want him to adopted me. Thanks
Please contact us to discuss your options.