Florida Statutes 63.132 – Affidavit of expenses and receipts
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(1) Before the hearing on the petition for adoption, the prospective adoptive parents and any adoption entity must file an affidavit under this section.
(a) The affidavit must be signed by the adoption entity and the prospective adoptive parents. A copy of the affidavit must be provided to the adoptive parents at the time the affidavit is executed.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 63.132
- 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
- Adult: means a person who is not a minor. 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
- 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
- Person: includes a natural person, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, or association, and any other legal entity. 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
(b) The affidavit must itemize all disbursements and receipts of anything of value, including professional and legal fees, made or agreed to be made by or on behalf of the prospective adoptive parents and any adoption entity in connection with the adoption or in connection with any prior proceeding to terminate parental rights which involved the child who is the subject of the petition for adoption. The affidavit must also include, for each hourly legal or counseling fee itemized, the service provided for which the hourly fee is being charged, the date the service was provided, the time required to provide the service if the service was charged by the hour, the person or entity that provided the service, and the hourly fee charged.
(c) The affidavit must show any expenses or receipts incurred in connection with:
1. The birth of the child.
2. The placement of the child with the petitioner.
3. The medical or hospital care received by the mother or by the child during the mother’s prenatal care and confinement.
4. The living expenses of the birth mother. The living expenses must be itemized in detail to apprise the court of the exact expenses incurred.
5. The services relating to the adoption or to the placement of the child for adoption that were received by or on behalf of the petitioner, the adoption entity, either parent, the child, or any other person.
The affidavit must state whether any of these expenses were paid for by collateral sources, including, but not limited to, health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or public assistance.
(2) The court may require such additional information as is deemed necessary.
(3) The court must issue a separate order approving or disapproving the fees, costs, and expenses itemized in the affidavit. The court may approve only fees, costs, and expenditures allowed under s. 63.097. An order approving fees, costs, and expenses that exceed the limits set forth in s. 63.097 must include a written determination of reasonableness. The court may reject in whole or in part any fee, cost, or expenditure listed if the court finds that the expense is any of the following:
(a) Contrary to this chapter.
(b) Not supported by a receipt, if the expense is not a fee of the adoption entity.
(c) Not a reasonable fee or expense, considering the requirements of this chapter and the totality of the circumstances.
(4) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent or an adoption of a relative or adult, the finalization of an adoption of a minor if the parental rights were terminated under chapter 39, or the domestication of an adoption decree of a minor child adopted in a foreign country.