Let us help you in the process.
Adopting with care
in legal matters.
Having a trusted attorney by your side throughout the adoption process will alleviate the anxiety that could arise.
The Gufford Law Firm, P.A., will bring decades of legal experience to their clients and provide them with comprehensive adoption representation across the South Florida Treasure Coast. We want our clients to understand the process of adoption, and we educate them on all aspects to insure they make well informed decisions.
Our office confidently handles varieties of adoptions.
- Stepparent and Relative Adoptions
- Non relative Adoptions
- Same-Sex Adoptions (LGBTQ)
- Adult Adoptions
The Gufford Law Firm, P.A., will bring decades of legal experience to their clients and provide them with comprehensive adoption representation across the South Florida Treasure Coast. We want our clients to understand the process of adoption, and we educate them on all aspects to insure they make well informed decisions.
Our office confidently handles varieties of adoptions.
- Stepparent and Relative Adoptions
- Non relative Adoptions
- Same-Sex Adoptions (LGBTQ)
- Adult Adoptions
Stepparent and Relative
Adoptions
“Stepparent”
upon as the
spouse of a
parent.
“Relative”
for purposes of the Florida statue is
defined with a bit more complexity as
“a person related by blood to the
person being adopted.”
Who may be adopted?
Who may adopt?
If you don’t qualify as a “relative” to a close enough degree (or at all), not to worry. You may qualify as a non relative.
Adopting as a non relative does make the process a little more involved, but it can usually be achieved
If you don’t qualify as a “relative” to a close enough degree (or at all), you may qualify as a nonrelative.
A husband and wife jointly
An unmarried adult
A married person without the other spouse joining as a petitioner, if the person to be adopted is not his or her spouse, and if:
The other spouse is a parent of the person to be adopted and consents to the adoption; or
The failure of the other spouse to join in the petition or to consent to the adoption is excused by the court for good cause shown or in the best interest of the child.
No person eligible under this section shall be prohibited from adopting solely because such person possesses a physical disability or handicap, unless it is determined by the court or adoption entity that such disability or handicap renders such person incapable of serving as an effective parent.
No person eligible under this section shall be prohibited from adopting solely because he or she desires to educate the adopted child at home.If you don’t qualify as a “relative” to a close enough degree (or at all), you may qualify as a nonrelative.
Adopting as a non relative does make the process a little more involved, but it can usually be achieved
Stepparent and Relative
Adoptions
We generally recommend that a third party serve as an intermediary or adoption entity. When a third party handles placement, an attorney can preserve his duty to his client without becoming a party in the case. We have a wide variety of experts to refer to our clients. This type of expert can serve as an intermediary or adoption entity if one is required. There are many different agencies that can serve as intermediaries for adoption. Examples are the Florida Department of Children and Families and Catholic Charities.
A note of caution: Beware of companies and law firms that claim to do everything “in house.” We have seen prospective parents fall prey to companies run by people who are essentially engaging in baby selling
and often charge steep prices for each and every service under the sun. We will gladly advise you on how to choose wisely if you are shopping for an adoption intermediary.
Once a child is ready for placement, one of our attorneys can help file
correct documents with the court and guide the adoptive parent(s) through essential legal processes.
A nonrelative planning to adopt a child must first be approved through the home study process. We can assist with locating the proper expert from our network to advise prospective parents through this process, usually at a much lower price than what we have seen others charge.
If our law firm handles your case, we will advise you through all phases of the adoption process, including helping you to get a new birth certificate afterward, to make your family relationship official.
Adult Adoptions
Adoptions by same-sex couples were banned in Florida until 2015. The ban targeting potential LGBTQ parents was ruled unconstitutional in 2010 and was lifted altogether in 2015. Today, prospective adoptive parents’ same-sex relationships do not pose legal obstacles to adoption.
It is not only minor children who are eligible for adoption. Many older individuals and couples become interested in adopting adults to become their legal sons and daughters. While this phenomenon surprises many people, it may serve a number of purposes such as:
- To streamline guardianship and/or inheritance rights for a trusted and loved caregiver, distant relative or another special person who has filled or will fill the role of a son or daughter through adoption.
- To overcome obstacles to adoption during childhood such as biological parents’ objections: When nurturing ties exist throughout a young person’s growing up but legalities prevent adoption, that young person can give his or her own consent after becoming an adult. This process is common for full legitimation of parental relationships with stepchildren and foster children who have helped form a family for years. It can also legitimize a relationship with a biological father whose paternity was never formally confirmed.
- To preserve adoptive parents’ names and replace adoptees’ family names: When an adult gives consent for his or her own adoption, a new birth certificate may be created, just as with an adopted minor. Family ties with unnamed biological parents will be permanently severed.
Same-Sex Adoptions
(LGBTQ)
International Adoptions
In the case of an international adoption, parents typically find an eligible child abroad, adopt him or her in another country, obtain an immigrant visa for the child through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, previously known as INS) and bring him or her to the U.S., where the child is then granted U.S. citizenship upon entering the country. Our law rm advises clients on compliance with international requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention, as well as U.S. Department of State requirements verifying that the child has been cleared for adoption.