Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Parental rights? We had given a defendant a specific plea agreement in order for him to terminate his parental rights
Background history - the defendant has battery on the mother of the child when she was pregnant, and he was also charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor because he was 34 and the mother was 17. He also has other charges not specific with this case.
In order for the defendant to get a plea bargain us the victims agree that we would allow him to have a plea agreement if he signed his parental rights away, or he was facing 5 years in prison and be labeled a sexual offender. The plea agreement includes a lowered charge to child abuse and 5 years of probation with sex offender treatment without the label of a sex offender. Separately to that; in order for us to agree to the plea agreement the defendant was to sign over his parental rights.
Additional information
In criminal court before the defendant was sentenced the defendant�s attorney presented the document to the defendant while he was in the holding area. The defendant and 2 witnesses signed the document agreeing to terminate his parental rights and it was notarized. Before the judge sentenced him we received a copy of the notarized document of termination of parental rights in open court.
Now DCF is saying that the paper is not legal because it was signed in criminal court and not in civil court, and the defendant is now trying to receive full custody. Everyone in this agreement believed that this document was legal. The defendant would have never been given this good of a deal if we knew this document was not legal.
The defendant�s attorney was a former criminal and civil judge. So I believe that the attorney should have known whether or not this document was legal. If this document is not legal does this appear to be a case of wrong doing by the attorney in order to get his client off?

Asked on 12/09/10, 11:58 am

Lucreita Becude Lucreita D. Becude, P.A.

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You can have the cases combined and the document should be allowed in civil court.

Answered on 12/15/10, 7:50 am

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