Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Same-Sex Family Law
A same-sex couple can spend many years together and raise children together, but under the current state of Florida law, the party to the relationship who is not biologically related to the children may not have any parenting rights if the couple separates. This was an issue in the case Stabler v. Spicer, 1D21-1826 (Fla. 1st DCA November 2, 2022).
The parties to this case lived together and agreed to have a child. The parties agreed the brother of one of the same-sex partners would impregnate the other partner. This resulted in the birth of one child. Five years later, the couple enlisted the help of a mutual friend to become pregnant again. One party had no biological ties to the children born because she did not birth them (except that she was the aunt of one of them). The couple eventually ended their relationship and custody litigation ensued. A mediation agreement was entered regarding one of the children. The biological mother appealed the court’s enforcement of the mediation agreement, arguing that under the State’s privacy clause in the constitution, the visitation was unenforceable as to a non-biological parent.
The appellate court agreed with the biological mother and reversed the trial court’s order as to visitation. It held “The trial court concluded that [the biological mother’s] actions—such as allowing continued contact with the children and accepting child support and housing from [the non-biological partner] —were such that [the biological mother] was foreclosed from refusing to abide by the visitation rights set forth in the mediation agreement. This conclusion is inconsistent with applicable caselaw, such as Wakeman. [The non-biological partner] lacks a legally enforceable visitation right notwithstanding the mediation agreement. [The non-biological partner] is not married to [the biological mother], is not a ‘parent’ of the children under Florida law (even though her name is part of the children’s hyphenated last names) and has not adopted either child (she consulted an attorney but never pursued adoption). Though it is admirable when nonparents promise to assist with the financial and emotional upbringing of a child, which is an enormous task, the law does not thereby allow visitation rights when the underlying relationship between the nonparent and the biological mother unravels.”
Schedule your consultation with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to the facts of your case.