63.053 Rights and responsibilities of an unmarried biological father; legislative findings.—
(1) In enacting the provisions contained in this chapter, the Legislature prescribes the conditions for determining whether an unmarried biological father’s actions are sufficiently prompt and substantial so as to require protection of a constitutional right. If an unmarried biological father fails to take the actions that are available to him to establish a relationship with his child, his parental interest may be lost entirely, or greatly diminished, by his failure to timely comply with the available legal steps to substantiate a parental interest.
(2) The Legislature finds that the interests of the state, the mother, the child, and the adoptive parents described in this chapter outweigh the interest of an unmarried biological father who does not take action in a timely manner to establish and demonstrate a relationship with his child in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. An unmarried biological father has the primary responsibility to protect his rights and is presumed to know that his child may be adopted without his consent unless he strictly complies with this chapter and demonstrates a prompt and full commitment to his parental responsibilities.
(3) The Legislature finds that a birth mother and a birth father have a right of privacy.
History.—s. 10, ch. 2003-58; s. 9, ch. 2012-81.
Section: Previous 63.042 63.0422 63.0423 63.0425 63.0427 63.043 63.052 63.053 63.054 63.0541 63.062 63.063 63.064 63.082 63.085 NextLast modified: September 23, 2016