Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Adoption of my son

I am wondering how I go about having the father of my child sign off his rights to our son. I am engaged to another man, and I want him to be able to adopt my son. Does the biological father have to relinquish his rights in order for this to happen? The biological father has never given me any money for my son; he is a registered sex offender, and is doing drugs. Does my fiance need to adopt my son in order for me to be able to change my son's last name? I also heard that if the father of my child signs away his rights, that I will never be eligible for food stamps, or any other kind of government assistance; is this true? Please let me know about how all of this works. I don't want my son to have this bad influence in his life. Thank you very much for your time.


Asked on 9/01/08, 9:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Gwaltney William W. Gwaltney, Attorneys at Law

Re: Adoption of my son

If you know where the biological father is, you can present him with the appropriate documents to waive his parental rights. He will have to at least be given the opportunity to prevent the adoption.

If you do not know where he is located you will need to post notice in accordance with rules of procedure in the last known location of the biological father. An attorney can really make this process move smoothly.

As for changing the name, adoption is not REQUIRED for a name change. However, you may still need to provide notice to the biological father.

Now, there may be other factors which could impact how or if the notice will truly be required.

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Answered on 9/01/08, 12:48 pm


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