If you find out your girlfriend is pregnant, one of the first things you should do is register with the Florida Putative Father Registry. Without your permission, your girlfriend could place the baby up for adoption and later contend that you abandoned her and the baby while she was pregnant. Florida Statute 63 requires that you substantially comply with all of the sub-section in order not to waive your right to consent.
Here is what you should do:
1. Register with the Florida Putative Father Registry
2. Offer to pay for medical visits, pre-natal care, maternity clothes, and any related pregnancy expenses, including food and housing. Keep receipts - you may need them down the road to prove that you helped her when she was pregnant.
3. Go with her to the Doctor Appointments. Make sure you introduce yourself to the Nurse or Doctor. Ask questions. Make sure they mark in the chart you were there.
4. Pay financial support and keep receipts.
5. Be involved in the pregnancy. If the two of you don't live together, call daily and find out how's she'd doing and how the pregnancy is going. If she refuses your calls - make a diary of the attempts and how she refused to talk to you.
Failure to do those things may result in your consent for adoption not being required. If you receive a Notice of Intended Adoption, and plan to contest the adoption, there are multiple things you have do including registering with the Florida Putative Father Registry, filing an Affidavit to Assume Responsibility (not a Verified Response). Let the Adoption Agency know immediately that you plan to contest the Adoption. The Florida Adoption Statutes are complicated and one misstep could cost you your child. It is important to take the necessary steps to prevent the Adoption Agency from proving abandonment.
If you are faced with a contested adoption issue, please contact the law office of Anne E. Raduns immediately or visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation, all of which is credited back to your account if we accept your case. We have successfully handled multiple contested adoption cases. We can guide you through the process.
