Adoption laws in Florida sometimes change due to cases that make their way through the court system. Adoptions are often a pleasant legal experience when everyone cooperates from the beginning, but that is not always the case. What results is not just a long court battle when things do not…
Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law As a Jacksonville Family Law attorney, often I am asked whether Florida allows homosexual couples to adopt children. In the recent years, Florida has been in the spotlight for the gay adoption ban that exists here in the state. With celebrities like Rosie…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney at Law Florida adoptions fall under Florida Statute Chapter 63, which provides the different grounds for adoption and the process that must be followed in order to pursue an in-state adoption. In addition, the Florida legislature has provided for different forms of adoption, which…
As a Jacksonville divorce and family law attorney, I often have clients ask me if they can have the other party’s parental rights terminated due to the lack of participation in the child’s life. In child support cases, when a parent has not paid child support nor attempted to contact…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. Florida had a long standing adoption ban for homosexuals until an appellate court ruled that there was no merit for the ban and found it unconstitutional. However, the issue was not over with that court ruling because there was…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. Stepparent adoptions in Florida can be done in a relatively short amount time, if all parties are in agreement. Basically, if the biological parent is willing to sign a consent for termination of parental rights, then the adopting parent…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. As a Jacksonville, Florida family law attorney one of the more joyous occasions I get to handle are stepparent adoptions. When a parent marries a someone that is willing to take the place of a missing parent, whether by…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. Teenage pregnancies or unwanted pregnancies seem to be a common topic in American culture. From Sarah Palin’s daughter to Jamie Lynn Spears who was 16 and pregnant, and to your own child possibly knowing someone in school that is…
The Florida Department of Children & Families has decided that it will not appeal last month’s 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the state’s 30-year-old ban on gays and lesbians adopting children. According to news reports, the only way the case would remain alive would be if the state’s…
The international adoption process is complex and fraught with hazards, as evidenced by even celebrities like Madonna who have all the legal and financial resources at her command, but nevertheless encountered a number of problems adopting her son from Malawi. Couples who have grown increasingly frustrated with the adoption process…