Month: June 2016

Stepparent adoptions are a relatively easy process in Florida so long as the stepparent is the spouse of the child’s parent. Florida law once prohibited gays from adopting children but that provision was struck down as unconstitutional as violating the due process rights of the person wishing to adopt. Still, prior to the 2014 US Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex couples to legally marry, a partner of a gay parent was unable to adopt the parent’s child under traditional means since gay marriages were still invalid. But since the court decision that legalized same-sex marriages in...

Child support is an obligation of every parent. When the parents are unmarried, separated or divorced, then the parent who has the smallest percentage of parenting time or the one with whom the children do not primarily reside, will generally have to make child support payments to the other parent. These payments contribute to the child’s well-being by helping with medical care, educational expenses, recreational and other activities for the child’s benefit. At some point during the divorce proceedings, or when the parents separate or paternity is established, the court will set the amount...