Florida Statutes 63.207 – Out-of-state placement
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(1) Unless the parent placing a minor for adoption files an affidavit that the parent chooses to place the minor outside the state, giving the reason for that placement, or the minor is to be placed with a relative or with a stepparent, or the minor is a difficult-to-place child, as defined in s. 409.166(2), or for other good cause shown, an adoption entity may not:
(a) Take or send a minor out of the state for the purpose of placement for adoption; or
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 63.207
- Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to such adoptive parents in lawful wedlock. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Adoption entity: means the department, a child-caring agency registered under…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Child: means any unmarried person under the age of 18 years who has not been emancipated by court order. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Court: means a circuit court of this state and, if the context requires, the court of any state that is empowered to grant petitions for adoption. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and who is not a gestational surrogate as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Placement: means the process of a parent or legal guardian surrendering a child for adoption and the prospective adoptive parents receiving and adopting the child and all actions by any adoption entity participating in placing the child. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- Relative: means a person related by blood to the person being adopted within the third degree of consanguinity. See Florida Statutes 63.032
- To place: means the process whereby a parent or legal guardian surrenders a child for adoption and the prospective adoptive parents receive and adopt the child, and includes all actions by any person or adoption entity participating in the process. See Florida Statutes 63.032
(b) Place or attempt to place a minor for the purpose of adoption with a family who primarily lives and works outside Florida in another state. If an adoption entity is acting under this subsection, the adoption entity must file a petition for declaratory statement pursuant to s. 63.102 for prior approval of fees and costs. The court shall review the costs pursuant to s. 63.097. The petition for declaratory statement must be converted to a petition for an adoption upon placement of the minor in the home. When a minor is placed for adoption with prospective adoptive parents who primarily live and work outside this state, the circuit court in this state may retain jurisdiction over the matter until the adoption becomes final. The prospective adoptive parents may finalize the adoption in this state.
(2) An adoption entity may not counsel a birth mother to leave the state for the purpose of giving birth to a child outside the state in order to secure a fee in excess of that permitted under s. 63.097 when it is the intention that the child is to be placed for adoption outside the state.
(3) When applicable, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children authorized in s. 409.401 shall be used in placing children outside the state for adoption.