Dependency Law Finder

Florida's dependency statutes, court rules and DCF operating procedures, with the appellate opinions that apply them

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M.M. v. Department of Children & Family Services987 So. 2d 1267 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) · 1D07-6527

Court
1st DCA
Decided
2008-08-15
Case
TPR
Appellant
Father

Affirmed Termination affirmed; availability of a nonadoptive relative placement cannot weigh against termination, and the great-grandmother may still seek to adopt.

Issue
Manifest best interests
Facts
Relative or grandparent caregiver
Law cited
§ 39.621(6) (now § 39.621(7)) · § 39.810(1)

Summary, issues, facts, outcome, and appellant were extracted automatically from the opinion. Check the opinion itself before relying on them.

On CourtListener
BENTON, J.

“[T]he availability of a nonadoptive placement with a relative may not ... be considered as a factor weighing against termination of parental rights.” § 39.810(1), Fla. Stat. (2006). Since the child’s mother’s parental rights were terminated earlier, the “child will not be reunited with a parent, [and] adoption, under chapter 63, is the primary permanency option.” § 39.621(6), Fla. Stat. (2006). As the Department of Children and Family Services acknowledges, “the trial court here has not precluded the paternal great grandmother from being among that number seeking to adopt L.K.”

AFFIRMED.

VAN NORTWICK and HAWKES, JJ., concur.

Opinion text: CourtListener, Free Law Project. Not an official reporter; check the court's version before citing.