Florida Bar exam- July 2023, Essay Question #1- Family Law, focused on adoption.

You can read the essay question on the Florida Board of Bar Examiner’s website by clicking here and looking at Essay Question 1.

Read the essay at the link above, try to issue spot based on the question, and then read below to see if you were able to find all of the same points.

It addressed, such issues as

• adoption
• child’s best interests
• requirements for eligibility to adopt
• involuntary termination of parental rights
• consent for voluntary termination of parental rights
• incarceration that would constitute virtual desertion
• notice required to a father regarding adoption
• priority of state, mother, child & adoptive parent over unmarried biological father, who doesn’t have a relationship with the child
• grandparent’s priority rights to adopt if children have lived with the grandparent for 6 months or more
• abandonment by failure to pay child support or keep in contact with the child
• an adult who is being adopted must consent in writing
• payment for adoption services
• adoption tax credit, as well as a few other points

If you know those rules, good for you. If you don’t, read below and see how you would apply them in this specific essay.

The first issue is about Grandma’s success (or lack thereof) in adopting Daughter and Son.

• Court will consider the child’s best interests in deciding a petition for adoption.
• An adult that lives in Florida, is of good moral character & has the ability to nurture & provide for a child may adopt. Grandma is in good health & can provide financially for Daughter & Son. Unmarried adult may adopt. Grandma is qualified to adopt.
• Children have resided with Grandma throughout their lives. Court will consider the depth of the relationship existing between children & Grandma. If children have lived with a grandparent for 6 months or more, that grandparent will have priority rights to adopt the children.
• Adoption-is the process by which someone other than the biological parent of a child becomes his/her legal parent. Children are eligible for adoption if their parents are deceased or the parent’s rights have been terminated. Daughter’s Father’s rights need to be terminated for Grandma to adopt.
  • This is a Kinship Adoption, common in Florida. No home study is needed & FL expedites the process.
• Mother has given her consent to the adoption of Daughter & Son by Grandma, thereby voluntarily terminating her parental rights. Consent is valid once signed in the presence of 2 witnesses & notarized.
• In FL, a man is considered child’s father if his name is on the birth certificate. Father ‘s name is on Daughter’s birth certificate, Father must be given notice of her adoption & termination of his parental rights.
• Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights. Court may terminate a parent’s rights without that parent’s consent. Court will terminate Daughter’s Father’s parental rights because he has been incarcerated for a period of time that would constitute a virtual desertion. Daughter is 11, Father has been incarcerated for 9 years & has 3 more years to serve = virtual desertion.
• Daughter’s Father was ordered to pay child support, but only did so sporadically, he is in arrears & Father never communicated with Daughter while in prison = (abandonment).
• In FL, interests of state, mother, child & adoptive parent outweigh the interests of an unmarried biological father who doesn’t demonstrate a relationship with his child. Father won’t prevail with his objections to Daughter’s adoption.
• No notice is required to paternal grandparents (because the children never lived with them).
  A court hearing is necessary to finalize an adoption. Only the adoptive parents & the children must be present at the adoption.
• Sam’s Father is deceased, he has his mother’s consent. Son is an adult, he must consent in writing to the adoption (any child over 12 must give their consent to be adopted). Facts state Son & Daughter are in favor of the adoption. Daughter, 11, is of sufficient age that court would consider her preferences.
• CONCLUSION: Grandma will be successful in adopting Daughter & Son.

The second issue is Daughter’s Father’s child support.

• Both parents are required to pay child support for their children until they are 18. Father was ordered to pay child support, but he only did so sporadically and is currently in arrears on paying child support.
• Once Father’s parental rights are terminated, he will have no obligation to pay future child support. Father will still be obligated to pay the outstanding child support payments at the time of the adoption. In FL, there is no statute of limitations for collecting child support arrears.
• Under Florida law, going to prison does not excuse a parent’s responsibility for child support payments. The only way to change existing child support is through a court order. Father could face penalties for failing to pay child support for any reason, including incarceration.
  
  

The last issue presented in this essay involves ethics!

• Attorney cannot accept compensation for representing a client from someone other than the client, unless the client gives informed consent. Grandma’s boyfriend offered to pay her legal fees for the adoption. If she advises attorney of her acceptance of boyfriend’s offer to pay legal fees, there should be no issue, as long as the boyfriend does not interfere with the case & attorney maintains proper confidentiality with Grandma. Also, if boyfriend gives Grandma the money directly, as a gift, for her to pay fees & then she herself makes payment to attorney, there should be no issue.
• If Grandma makes the payment for adoption services herself, she is eligible for an adoption tax credit, which will reduce her income taxes by the amount of her adoption costs.

If you were able to address all of those rules, define them, and apply them in your answer to the Florida Bar Exam’s July 2023 Family Law essay question – you would pass that essay on the Florida Bar Exam.