Adoption law in Florida

Karen’s adoption practice is deliberately focused on the types of adoption where clear legal representation makes the biggest difference for families: stepparent adoption, relative adoption, adult adoption, and second-parent adoption. Each has its own statutory requirements, timelines, and evidentiary standards under Florida adoption law.

Karen does not handle contested private domestic infant adoption or foster-adopt cases. For those matters, she can refer you to an experienced colleague.

Stepparent Adoption

A stepparent adoption creates a permanent, legal parent-child relationship between a stepparent and their spouse’s child. Once finalized, the child’s birth certificate is amended to reflect the stepparent as a legal parent, and the stepparent takes on all the rights and responsibilities of a natural parent — including inheritance, decision-making authority, and financial obligations.

Stepparent adoption typically requires the consent of the non-custodial biological parent, unless their parental rights have been terminated for cause or they cannot be located after diligent search. In cases where a sperm donor or embryo donor was used, an affidavit from the physician evidencing that a fertility procedure was performed to conceive the child will be provided to the court in lieu of consent documents.

Karen handles the entire process – from drafting to final hearing.

Second-parent Adoption

Second-parent adoption is the legal process by which a non-biological parent, who is not married to the biological parent, becomes a legal parent of the child without terminating the biological parent’s rights. This process is often used for LGBTQ+ families who are unmarried.

Relative Adoption

Relative adoption applies when a family member — grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or parent — legally adopts a child within the third degree of consanguinity. This may happen when the child’s biological parents are unable or unwilling to raise the child, or when a relative has been raising the child informally and wants to formalize the arrangement. This type of adoption may also be used in an LGBTQ+ family where the gestating parent used the egg of the non-gestating parent.

Adult Adoption

Adult adoption creates a legal parent-child relationship between two adults. It is used for a variety of reasons — recognizing a longstanding parental relationship with a stepchild who is now an adult, establishing inheritance rights, formalizing a foster relationship, or securing decision-making authority for adults with disabilities.

Adult adoption in Florida is generally more procedurally straightforward than adoption of a minor child, since consent issues are usually simpler and no home study is required.

The Process

Every adoption is different, but most follow a similar arc: initial consultation to identify the type of adoption and confirm eligibility, gathering consents, affidavits, and supporting documents, drafting and filing the petition, addressing any procedural requirements (home study and service of process where required), and finalizing the adoption at a hearing where the judge hears short testimony and considers signing the Final Judgment of Adoption.

Karen provides realistic timeline estimates during the initial consultation based on the type of adoption, the completeness of documentation, and any individual complexities.

Frequently Asked Questions