Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
custody/living will
I have full custody of my 6 year old daughter. If I make a living will specifying who I want to raise her in the event of my death, will that be enough? I do not want it to be her father! (At this point I want it to be my parents in another state- we lived w/ them for her 1st 2 yrs)
Situation details:
-Dad signed away rights in '02 (at 3 mos old).
-He has legal issues w/ 3+ DUIs
-He has seen her only 1x in the past 1.5yrs. I had allowed it at first (supervised) - not now because he lied to her & would diappear for months at a time. He has broken her heart.
-He pays child support through the Dept of Rev (taken directly from his employer).
-We lived as a family for a ttl of 3 months in '04 (tried to reconcile & found out he is an alcoholic).
I want to make sure that my daughter will be raised in the same loving/nuturing environment that I feel I provide for her. She deserves nothing less. Since he gave away his right already, does that negate his option to try to 'get' her if I pass? Could he fight my parents for her and have a leg to stand on?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: custody/living will
If the father signed away his rights, and those rights were terminated by a judge, he has no right to custody when you die. In that event, you may designate a guardian in your will, and your will will control.
If a judge did not sign off on a termination of the father's parental rights, then your will cannot supersede his rights as a father. Of course, were he to get custody, a relative of the child could then seek to have his father's rights terminated.
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