Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Re: child abandonment l?

By not financially supporting and having no contact with the child (while knowing where the child is) over an extended (undefined) period of time. If they made efforts on either, but those efforts were minimal, abandonment can still exist.

Keep in mind that abandonment is generally in the context of a dependency case--where the State is trying to prove both parents have either neglected or abandoned the child, to warrant the State's intervention. And in those cases where that intervention has led to a proceeding for the termination of parental rights of both parents, understand that there there is no action for terminating the parental rights of only one parent, outside of a stepparent adoption. In that context, abandonment can also be a part of proving a child can be adopted.

If it's a divorce or time sharing (formerly custody and visitation) case, it's only significant in determining parental responsibility or specific time sharing.