Sometimes existing families need some legal re-arranging to make sure that the child’s best interests are met.

A relative adoption is where a child is adopted by someone who is related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity. For those of you (most of us!) who don’t know your first cousin once removed from your second cousin, here is a table of consanguinity. Examples of relative adoptions are grandparents adopting their grandchildren, or aunts and uncles adopting their nieces or nephews, or older siblings adopting their younger siblings. If a family member wants to adopt a child who is related more distantly than the third degree of consanguinity (for example, a great aunt wants to adopt her grand nephew), that is still possible—it just won’t be categorized as a “relative adoption” (it would be a private adoption).

The significance of being categorized as a relative adoption is that Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes provides a streamlined legal process. In a relative adoption, one petition can take care of both the termination of parental rights and the adoption. No home study or post-placement visits are required. Once the petition is filed, there is no waiting period, and the court may finalize the adoption immediately. This is in contrast to a private adoption, where two petitions (one for termination of parental rights and a subsequent one for adoption) must be filed, a home study and post-placement visits are required, and the adoption cannot be finalized until 90 days have elapsed since the adoption entity’s placement of the child with the prospective adoptive family. In either scenario, the court is authorized to grant the adoptee a name change as part of the adoption proceeding.

Relative adoption is crucial in providing for a child’s legal security. Given the prevalence of divorce, substance abuse, mental health issues, and economic hardship, the sad reality is that many parents find themselves in circumstances where they are unable or unwilling to provide for and raise their children. Sometimes, parents have arranged for their child to live with a relative either temporarily, permanently, or indefinitely. That relative may have been providing for that child’s every financial and emotional need for months or even years, and that child may even view that person as a parental figure. Yet despite fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood, relatives do not hold any legal rights to the child. This creates challenges, especially in the event of one or both parents’ death or incapacity, as the relative is unable to make medical or educational decisions for the child and may have to contend with custodial challenges from a previously absent biological parent or others. This is why obtaining permanency for a child through relative adoption is so important.

To find out more about the adoption process, please contact us to arrange a consultation.