Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Adoption
A stepparent adoption can be relatively easy if both legal parents consent to the adoption. As long as certain statutory requirements are met in filing the petition, consent and other required documents, this type of case can be uncontested and resolved fairly quickly. Denial of an uncontested stepparent adoption petition was an issue in the case R.P.M. v. Proposed Adoption of I.R.M., 4D2023-0558 (Fla. 4th DCA December 20, 2023).
The stepfather in this case sought to adopt his stepdaughter. He obtained the written consent of the child’s father. The father also signed a settlement agreement with the stepfather and the child’s mother indicating this was an open adoption, and that the father could still have contact with the child if the child consented. The petition, consent and settlement agreement were presented to the court with a request for a hearing. The trial court sua sponte entered an order invalidating the consent and agreement, requiring the parties to file an unconditional consent (without reference to any open adoption) or risk dismissal of their petition. The parties continued to request a hearing on their original petition, consent and agreement, but the court ultimately entered an order dismissing the petition as facially insufficient. An appeal followed.
The appellate court reversed, holding “[T]he trial court abused its discretion by invalidating the Consent without making a finding as to either fraud or duress as required by section 63.082(7)(f), Florida Statutes (2021), and relevant caselaw. [internal citations omitted]. Moreover, a trial court cannot set aside a birth parent’s consent ‘without notice to [the adoption entity] and an appropriate evidentiary basis to establish the consent was obtained by fraud or duress.’ In re S.N.W., 912 So. 2d 368, 370 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Here, Appellants were persistent in their efforts to obtain an evidentiary hearing before the trial court invalidated the Consent on an unsupported ground and without an evidentiary basis. See id.”
The court continued “Father executed both the Consent and the Agreement on the same date. While the Agreement specified that Father would ‘affirm his Consent for Adoption,’ the Agreement also included ‘open adoption’ language which created a concern with the trial court as to whether Father’s consent to termination of parental rights was conditional. However, the existence of a separate adoption agreement or a possibly conditional consent does not automatically mean a consent to adoption is invalid. [. . .] Here, the Consent, which does not specifically mention the Agreement, states that “no action previously taken or previously signed by [Father], obligates [Father] to sign this Consent for Adoption.” Nor has Father contended that he was defrauded into executing the Consent with an expectation of postadoption contact with I.R.M. pursuant to the Agreement. Thus, the appropriate course of action would have been for the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing with prior notice to Appellants and Father before determining that the Consent was invalid.”
Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to your case.