Florida law does not confer any legally recognized parental rights to stepparents as it concerns their spouse’s minor children from a previous relationship. However, under Florida law a stepparent may be able to adopt those children which would give the married person full and equitable parental rights and responsibility over his or her stepchild. This would be as a result of the court issuing a court order entitled a Final Judgment of Stepparent Adoption. The result of the adoption is that the adopting parent has the same legal parental rights as his or her spouse. It is as if the child was born to the natural parent and the stepparent. The birth certificate is amended to reflect the names of the stepparent and the natural parent.

In Florida, adoption law is governed by Chapter 63 of the Florida statutes. Often a stepparent adoption merely legalizes the parental relationship that is already place. This solidifies the relationship between the child and the adopting parent.

The first consideration in a stepparent in a Florida adoption is whether the stepparent is eligible to adopt. If the person can be an effective parent and is married to a legal parent of the child, the person should be able to legally adopt.

The stepparent adoption process begins with the filing of a petition for adoption. The petitioner is the stepparent (the person who is adopting the child) and his or her spouse. A petition for stepparent adoption in Florida must include:

• Birth date and place of birth of the child.
• The anticipated new name of the child, if the child’s name is being changed.
• Statement of how long the stepparent has lived with the child.
• The stepparent’s reasons for pursuing an adoption of the child.

The absent parent must be provided notice of the adoption petition and is afforded an opportunity to object to the. If the absent parent does not contest the adoption or has consented, then the court will finalize the adoption. The Office of Vital Statistics will give the child a new birth certificate showing the child’s new name and parents.