Category Archives: Adoption
New Study Highlights Similarities in Child Outcomes between Same-Sex and Different-Sex Parents
A new study just released dispels the age-old myth that same-sex couples cannot be good parents by using scientifically-sound principles to break apart some discriminatory theories. Specifically, researchers from top institutions found absolutely no differences with same-sex couples when it came to partner relationships, a child’s emotional and overall health, or parent-child relationships, in… Read More »
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds LGBT Adoption
On March 7th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that denied parental rights to a lesbian adoptive mother. The couple had conceived three children over the 16-year span of their relationship, where one was the biological mother and the other the adoptive mother. The final adoption decree, as administered… Read More »
Florida Adoption Changes Sent To Governor
A measure that passed the Florida House on March 2, 2016, and the state Senate last month, has now headed to the governor to sign. The proposal–SB 590–would effectively allow judges to place the best interest of the child above their biological parents in some adoption cases. Specifically, Florida is in a state of… Read More »
2016 Important Facts for Fostering or Adopting In Florida
Many families in Florida are thinking of fostering or adopting a child, but don’t know how to go about doing so. Here, not only is it important to realize that you do not have to do this alone—that there are experienced adoption attorneys out there available to assist you through the process—but it is… Read More »
Supreme Court Favors Lesbian Adoptive Mother’s Visitation Rights
On December 14th, the United States Supreme Court sided with an adoptive parent who split from her lesbian partner, the birth mother of the three children, in restoring her visitation rights. In doing so, the court stayed a decision made by the Alabama Supreme Court, which refused to recognize the woman’s adoption of the… Read More »
Barriers to LGBT Adoptions
Sadly, for one Florida family, adopting the child they have wanted to welcome into their home since they first met him in 2011 has proven to be difficult, in spite of Florida’s ban on gay adoption being overturned. Although Florida is more progressive on this issue than other states such as Michigan and Texas,… Read More »
Fathers’ Rights in Adoption Proceedings
Knowing your rights as a parent during adoption proceedings is crucial, particularly because it can determine the entire future for your child by severing ties with you as the birth parent. Typically, unmarried biological fathers must demonstrate a commitment to parenthood by establishing legal paternity rights in accordance with the law in order to… Read More »
The Process of Stepparent Adoption in Florida
The state of Florida has a compelling interest in ensuring that children have stable and permanent homes. Stepparent adoption affords stepparents all the same legal rights as biological parents, and can be helpful to families and children where one biological parent has abandoned their parent responsibilities. However, the stepparent adoption process can be complex,… Read More »
Paternity Rights in Florida Adoption Proceedings
Paternity proceedings provide rights and benefits to a child’s mother, father, and the child as well. Some of these benefits include child support, birth certificate information, potential insurance benefits, medical history information, etc. They also protect important custody and visitation rights. The Paternity Process If the mother is married, the law assumes the father… Read More »
Same Sex Marriage Legal in Florida and Carries Implications for Divorce Proceedings
The conservative state of Florida has had a long, sordid history regarding the topic of LGBT rights, but this new year marked the end of Florida’s 38-year struggle for same-sex marriage. Legislation banning same-sex marriage has been in place since 1977, and the passage of Amendment 2 in 2008 codified the ban in Florida’s… Read More »
