Adoptions

Adoptions

Sometimes one parent remarries and their new spouse wants to adopt the child. Oftentimes, the biological Father or Mother has not seen the child for many years, not paid child support, and/or is unfit. If that is the case, an attorney can assist you with an Orlando stepparent adoption.

Step-Parent Adoptions

Sometimes one parent remarries and their new spouse wants to adopt the child. Oftentimes, the biological Father or Mother has not seen the child for many years, not paid child support, and/or is unfit. If that is the case, an attorney can assist you with an Orlando stepparent adoption.

Sometimes, a parent that fits the above mentioned description is willing to sign a consent to adoption.

If the parent will not sign a consent to adoption, but he/she fails to answer the paperwork served on him/her, you may file a default. However, you still need to present a prima facie case on the record before the judge regarding how that parent has abused, abandoned and/or neglected the child.

If the parent will not sign a consent to an Orlando adoption, and he/she has answered the paperwork served on him/her, then you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the other parent is unfit pursuant to F. S. Chapter 39. This is proven by showing the other parent abused, abandoned, and/or neglected the child.

Sometimes, the most difficult part of these cases is locating the other parent and having him/her served with the adoption paperwork. Many times he/she does not respond to the paperwork. Other times, he/she may respond to the paper work in the beginning of the case, but then he/she loses interest in fighting the case. He/she may not show up at the final hearing of adoption. You know the other parent of the child better than most people. You can probably anticipate how he/she will react, if you serve adoption papers on him/her.

Relative Adoptions

Oftentimes, a grandparent, aunt, or uncle is raising a niece, nephew, or grandchild because the parent cannot properly care for the child. Often times they want permanency for the child in that situation. An attorney can assist them in a relative adoption thereby giving the child permanency. Sometimes, parents that fit the above mentioned description are willing to sign a consent to an Orlando adoption.

If the parents will not sign a consent to adoption, but they fail to answer the paperwork served on them, you may file a default. However, you will still need to present a prima facie case on the record before the judge regarding how that parent has abused, abandoned and/or neglected the child. This must be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

If the parents will not sign a consent to adoption, and have answered the paperwork served on them, then you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the parents are unfit pursuant to F. S. Chapter 39. This is proven by showing the parents abused, abandoned, and/or neglected the child.

Sometimes, the most difficult part of these cases is locating the parents and having them served with the adoption paperwork. Many times they do not respond to the paperwork. Other times, they respond to the paper work in the beginning of the case, but lose interest in fighting the case. They may not show up at the final hearing of adoption. You know the parents of the child better than most people. You can probably anticipate to how they will react if you serve adoption papers on them.

Foster Parent Adoptions

Are you currently caring for a foster child? Do you want to make that child a permanent part of your family? An attorney can assist you with that. If the parents’ rights have been terminated, and DCFS is recommending that you adopt the child, DCFS will pay for your attorney to do the adoption. The attorney must be on the DCFS approved adoption list. Ms. Gilden is on the DCFS approved adoption list for Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties.

If DCFS is not recommending you adopt the child, but you feel that you are a proper person to adopt the child, an attorney can discuss that situation with you and recommend to you to whether it is plausible to pursue your goal.