Adopting My Grandson Without Parents Consent

by Dennis from Leesburg, Florida, Lake County

I`m wondering if there is any way I can go about adopting my grandson. I do not have his parents consent.

My grandson is 7 months old and my son and his wife are not in a stable home and don't care for him the way he needs to be cared for.

He is always sick. They just don't care about him. Me and my wife want to adopt him and give him a healthy stable home.

Answer to Florida Adoption Question

Dear Dennis,

It is possible that you are describing child neglect. Or it could be that you and your wife, disagree with the way your son and his wife are raising your grandson.

Or it could be that your son and his wife are in need of some sort of assistance. Perhaps they need financial assistance and cannot afford to take him to the doctor.

Or perhaps, they do not know how to take care of their son, so they might need education. The Florida Department of Children and Families states their mission in serving families like this:

More than 1 million children are victims of child abuse and neglect each year, according to state child protective service agencies.

Many victims don't receive help because they are not reported to the system. These abused and

neglected children span all ages, races, religions and socio-economic backgrounds. Child maltreatment includes actions that result in imminent risk of serious harm, death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation of a child under age 18 by a parent or caretaker. The goal of the department is to keep children safe in their own families when possible.

If you believe your grandson is being neglected, my suggestion is to first speak with your son and his wife, and question them about their childcare practices. You might try to become increasingly involved in caring for him.

And if that doesn't influence their level of care then my suggestion is to talk to the Department of Children and Families to see if there is a way to offer better care to your grandson.

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.

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