Q: Girlfriend's son born in Alabama now lives with me in Florida. Bio dad wants to sign away his rights. Can I adopt him?
The bio father wants to relinquish his parental rights to him, and my girlfriend & I want me to adopt her son as his legal father with her of course still being his mother. But she's under the impression that because her son was born in Alabama even though he lives now in Florida with us, that I would have to be married to her before the bio father could sign away his parental rights and I can legally adopt her son as his father and her as his mother. Is this true? Yes or no? Either way what are the proper steps
A:
Yes, you have to be married first.
Florida Statute 63.042 provides in pertinent part that:
"(1) Any person, a minor or an adult, may be adopted.
(2) The following persons may adopt:
(a) A husband and wife jointly;
(b) An unmarried adult; or
(c) A married person without the other spouse joining as a petitioner, if … "
For an answer with respect to a possible Alabama adoption, you should ask this in the Alabama section (Justia › Ask a Lawyer › Alabama› Family Law › ). But if the child has lived in Florida for at least six months, I don't believe the Alabama courts would have jurisdiction. It really doesn't matter where the child was born.
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