G.P. v. State

842 So.2d 1059 (2003)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps who have each executed a formal consent for adoption of their children and have authorized an intermediary to file a petition to terminate their parental rights and because, in each case, the identity of the fathers is unknown, constructive notice is required under the challenged statutory provisions. Ps moved for declaratory relief, challenging sections 63.087 and 63.088(5) as violative of their right to privacy guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, § 23 of the Florida Constitution. The challenged statutes forced Ps to publish information relating to their sexual relations that may have led to the child's conception. Their petition must include: The minor's name, gender, date of birth, and place of birth. The petition must contain all names by which the minor is or has been known, excluding the minor's prospective adoptive name but including the minor's legal name at the time of the filing of the petition, to allow interested parties to the action, including parents, persons having legal custody of the minor, persons with custodial or visitation rights to the minor, and persons entitled to notice pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act or the Indian Child Welfare Act, to identify their own interest in the action. If the petition is filed before the day the minor is 6 months old and if the identity or location of the father is unknown, each city in which the mother resided or traveled, in which conception may have occurred, during the 12 months before the minor's birth, including the county and state in which that city is located. Unless a consent to adoption or affidavit of nonpaternity executed by each person whose consent is required under s. 63.062 is attached to the petition, the name and the city of residence, including the county and state in which that city is located, of any man who the mother reasonably believes may be the minor's father. . . The trial court ruled in favor of the state on Ps declaratory judgment and Ps appealed.