Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights
by Myrna from Lakeland, Florida, Polk County
Can a child's last name be changed after termination of parental rights?
If a parent gives up their rights to a child in a Florida court of law, could the child's last name be changed as well removing his father's last name from the birth certificate?
Answer to Florida Family Law Question
Dear Myrna,
In Florida a parent is usually not allowed to voluntarily terminate parental rights unless there is a pending adoption.
If the parents are giving up parental rights and placing the child with an adoption agency.
When the child is adopted the name change is part of the adoption process.
If,
one of the parents is voluntarily terminating parental rights in a
step-parent adoption; the name change is also part of the adoption
process.
In both of these situations a new birth certificate is issued; and the adoption records are sealed.
Florida's Department of Health website, www.doh.state.fl.us has the following information posted on their site:
Adoption Procedures
If an adoption has occurred, the clerk of
the court will forward to our office a report of the adoption within
thirty days of the order. Based on this document, a new birth record
will be filed for the child.
If adopted in Florida but born in
another state, the report of adoption received from the clerk of the
court will be forwarded to the child's state of birth. Contact the
Bureau of Vital Statistics in the child's state of birth regarding their
requirements in this matter.
Reader Comments
Terminating Parental Rights Question
by Vanessa from Florida
How would the process be if one parent is voluntarily giving up parental rights to the other parent after a divorce?
--As far as I know, it doesn't work that way in Florida. The only time a parent may voluntarily terminate parental rights is if there is an adoption pending. Many parents constructively terminate parental rights through their own actions. No one can force someone to have a relationship with their child.
The
courts can order visitation, but forcing someone to visit their child
and be involved in their child's life, is probably impossible. Most
parents who ask this question are really asking if they can terminate
parental rights so that they do not have to pay child support.
And
the answer to that is no. A parent can decide that he doesn't want
anything to do with a child, never see the child again, but he or she
still must pay support. The state of Florida's position on this
is simple enough to understand. If the parents are not held accountable
for the financial support of their children, then that financial support
must be paid by the taxpayers. --Staff
Unwed Parents Termination of Father's Rights
by: Megan from Miami, Florida
My child's father and I were never married. He left me after I
got pregnant and did not show up again until 3 months after our child
was born (and only because I made it a point for my child to have a
relationship with his father). My child will be 2 this week and his
father has seen him a total of 4 times. He does not pay child support,
does not help with bills, I have not received a dime from him for the
sake of our child.
Recently, his new girlfriend has been
stalking me. I am afraid for my life and my child's life and believe
that the only way to change this is to have his rights terminated. If I
pass away, my child will go to his father. He is irresponsible,
unemployed, mentally unstable and does not care about this child, yet he
refuses to sign termination papers. What do I do?
--As far
as I know, a procedure to terminate parental rights is only done by the
state except in cases of adoption.
See Chapter 39 part X of the Florida Statutes for more information. --Staff
Legal Advice and Florida Court Forms
Notice: We provide these answers
to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further
their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and
should not be regarded as legal advice.
Legal Documents Preparation Services
Your legal documents ready to file at a price you can afford!
Our Petition Preparer Service can have all your documents professionally prepared after a brief interview with our experienced Legal Document Specialists.
Your court papers will be in your hands and ready to file in as little as three days! We guarantee our work. Just ask us for a quote.
Legal Documents Preparation Services
Your legal documents ready to file at a price you can afford!
Our Petition Preparer Service can have all your documents professionally prepared after a brief interview with our experienced Legal Document Specialists.
Your court papers will be in your hands and ready to file in as little as three days! We guarantee our work. Just ask us for a quote.
|
You are here: Home > Custody FAQs > Terminating Parental Rights > Name Change