Parental rights are fundamental, protected by the Florida Constitution, and thus are not easily relinquished.
In fact, there are very limited instances in which a parent may give up their parental rights voluntarily.
Sometimes we are asked whether giving up parental rights would result in eliminating the responsibility for supporting a child, and while the answer is that if one were able to give up their parental rights the result would be that parental responsibilities would also disappear, the ability to simply walk away from a child without repercussions is largely unknown under Florida law.
Once a legal parent has been established (maternity is established at birth, paternity is established by marriage at the child’s birth, or by court order), disestablishing it is limited.
Four methods (adoption, termination, judicial disestablishment, death) are potentially available.
1) Death
This one is obvious. If you die, you no longer have parental rights or responsibilities, other than those that you may have contracted for which continue beyond death (Trust Agreement, insurance policy, contractual obligations, etc.).
Grandparental rights, which are extremely limited, are not automatically terminated upon the death of a parent.
2) Judicial Disestablishment of Paternity
If you agreed to become the legal father of a child because you were told that you were the biological father, and then later you learned that someone other than you is the biological father, then you can petition the court to disestablish paternity.
Only a male may do this. There is no female equivalent.
Any DNA testing that you will base your claim upon must have been performed within 90 days of filing the petition.
You must be able to show that any financial responsibility that has been judicially required of you has been satisfied to date, or that any arrears are the result of being unable (not unwilling) to pay.
You cannot have previously acted to block the true biological parent from asserting parental rights.
You cannot have voluntarily assumed, through marriage to the mother or adoption or otherwise, parental rights and responsibilities for the child.
3) Judicial Termination of Parental Rights
If you have been accused of egregious abuse, neglect, or abandonment, the state (through the Department of Children and Families) can have a court terminate your parental rights, which can be accomplished by consent or after a trial.
4) Adoption
If another person is willing to voluntarily assume your parental rights and responsibilities (such as a future spouse of the mother of your child) then you can consent to the adoption.
Under those circumstances, your parental rights and future responsibilities are terminated when the court terminates your rights (a necessary step in an adoption proceeding, which may happen before or at the same time as the completion of the adoption).
You cannot simply consent to a potential adoption that may or may not take place in the future. The adoptive parent must be known before you can consent to the adoption.
If you have questions about parental rights or other family law matters, contact the Men’s Rights Law Firm today at 239-829-0166.