How Can A Father In Florida Sign His Rights Over?

In Florida, fathers cannot waive their parental rights and responsibilities unless there is a compelling reason why the father should be allowed to do so. Remember that parenting laws in Florida are not concerned with what the parents want or what is best for them, but what is best for the children and state law has established that, in most cases, it is in the best interest of the child to spend time with both parents and be supported by both parents.

Examples of compelling reasons to allow a father to waive his parental rights include circumstances in which the father:

committed violent crimes against the child or mother
is otherwise dangerous to the child
is incarcerated and expected to be so past the child’s 18th birthday
is unknown and cannot be identified or located
was a single-parent and adopted the child
is the only parent of the child and is putting the child up for adoption
is waiving rights to allow adoption of the child by a step-father

However, even if a father is allowed to waive his rights, his responsibilities, including child support, are likely to continue except in cases where the child is given up for adoption.

Additional information about child support law in Florida can be found on these pages of our web site: