Are there any special requirements for adoption in Florida?

Yes. Florida has a few special requirements for stepparent adoption, mostly a search of the Putative Father Registry, background checks, and consent rules, and it waives the home study for stepparents. Here is what to know.

Court. Your case is filed in the Circuit Court in your county. Florida has 67 counties, and each clerk's office can tell you about local filing steps.

Putative Father Registry search. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.054, the Florida Putative Father Registry must be searched in each adoption proceeding. Your filing includes a motion asking the court to order that search.

Background checks. The adopting stepparent must complete FDLE and FBI background checks.

Home study. Florida exempts stepparents from the home study under Fla. Stat. § 63.092. You don't have to schedule a social worker's visit to your home.

Residency. Florida has no minimum residency period for a stepparent adoption. If you have questions about which county to file in, the Circuit Court clerk can confirm.

Consent. Consent rules are in Fla. Stat. § 63.062:

• A child who is 12 or older must consent to the adoption.
• The other legal parent's consent is normally part of the process. If that parent can't be found or won't agree, the situation depends on your facts. Consent waiver is addressed in Fla. Stat. § 63.064, and you should ask the clerk or an attorney about your specific case.

Abandonment. Florida sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. It depends on the parent's overall conduct (Fla. Stat. § 63.089). Because it turns on the facts, an attorney is the right person to ask if you think this applies to you.

Effect on the other parent. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.172, a stepparent adoption ends the other parent's parental rights and child support obligation at the same time. Termination is not a separate proceeding. This is a major legal change, so make sure everyone involved understands it.

Attorney. Florida allows you to represent yourself in a stepparent adoption, so you don't have to hire an attorney. Some families still choose one, especially in contested cases.

Timeline and cost. A stepparent adoption in Florida typically takes about 3 months. Court filing fees generally run $200-$500, and the total typically comes to under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ when hiring an attorney.

What you gain. Adoption gives you full parental rights and responsibilities, including medical and educational decision-making authority. It also gives your child inheritance rights under Fla. Stat. § 63.172 and access to Social Security and insurance benefits.

How we help. StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your county, including the Putative Father Registry motion. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We've helped 1,228 Florida families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.