One situation that sometimes happens in a Florida divorce is that the wife will have primary custody of the children and will remarry. Her new husband may wish to adopt your biological children, and you may be asked for your consent to the adoption.
In Florida, a parent has the right to contest a stepparent adoption. If a parent contests the adoption, the adoption cannot take place. If the parent has no objections to the adoption and is willing to sign the paperwork, the adoption will most likely be granted.
One reason that some parents are willing to let their children be adopted by their ex-spouse’s new spouse is that the parent will no longer have to pay child support once the adoption is finalized. However, if your children are adopted, you lose all legal rights you have over them.
If a parent refuses to consent to the adoption or cannot be found, and is not involved in the life of the child, you may choose to terminate his or her parental rights. Under Florida law, a parent’s parental rights can be terminated if the parent has either abandoned the child or deserted the child without means of identification, or has been declared incompetent and it’s unlikely that he or she will regain competency.
In either of those cases, the individual’s parental rights can be terminated, which will clear the way for a stepparent adoption.