Florida Statute 742.16 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2024 Florida Statutes (including 2025 Special Session C)

Title XLIII
DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 742
DETERMINATION OF PARENTAGE

View Entire Chapter

F.S. 742.16

742.16 Expedited affirmation of parental status for gestational surrogacy.—

(1) Within 3 days after the birth of a child delivered of a gestational surrogate, the commissioning couple shall petition a court of competent jurisdiction for an expedited affirmation of parental status.

(2) After the petition is filed, the court shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition, which may be immediately after the filing of the petition. Notice of hearing shall be given as prescribed by the rules of civil procedure, and service of process shall be made as specified by law for civil actions.

(3) Upon a showing by the commissioning couple or the child or the gestational surrogate that privacy rights may be endangered, the court may order the names of the commissioning couple or the child or the gestational surrogate, or any combination thereof, to be deleted from the notice of hearing and from the copy of the petition attached thereto, provided the substantive rights of any person will not thereby be affected.

(4) Notice of the hearing shall be given by the commissioning couple to:

(a) The gestational surrogate.

(b) The treating physician of the assisted reproductive technology program.

(5) All hearings held in proceedings under this section shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than essential officers of the court, the parties, witnesses, and any persons who have received notice of the hearing.

(6) The commissioning couple or their legal representative shall appear at the hearing on the petition. At the conclusion of the hearing, after the court has determined that a binding and enforceable gestational surrogacy contract has been executed pursuant to s. 742.15 and that at least one member of the commissioning couple is the genetic parent of the child, the court shall enter an order stating that the commissioning couple are the legal parents of the child.

(7) When at least one member of the commissioning couple is the genetic parent of the child, the commissioning couple shall be presumed to be the natural parents of the child.

(8) Within 30 days after entry of the order, the clerk of the court shall prepare a certified statement of the order for the state registrar of vital statistics on a form provided by the registrar. The court shall thereupon enter an order requiring the Department of Health to issue a new birth certificate naming the commissioning couple as parents and requiring the department to seal the original birth certificate.

(9) All papers and records pertaining to the affirmation of parental status, including the original birth certificate, are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and subject to inspection only upon order of the court. The court files, records, and papers shall be indexed only in the name of the petitioner, and the name of the child shall not be noted on any docket, index, or other record outside the court file.

History.—s. 2, ch. 93-237; s. 416, ch. 96-406; s. 115, ch. 97-237.

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Amendments to 742.16

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 742.16

Total Results: 14

In Re Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420

31 So. 3d 756, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 180, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 405, 2010 WL 958075

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 18, 2010 | Docket: 1647513

Cited 5 times | Published

Fla. Stat. (xiv) Gestational surrogacy records. § 742.16(9), Fla. Stat. *772 (xv) Guardianship reports

Natural Parents of JB v. FLORIDA DCFS.

780 So. 2d 6, 2001 WL 169664

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Feb 22, 2001 | Docket: 1298397

Cited 4 times | Published

status in situations of gestational surrogacy (section 742.16, Florida Statutes (1999)), and hearings for

In Re Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420

68 So. 3d 228, 36 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 414, 2011 Fla. LEXIS 1573, 2011 WL 2637473

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 7, 2011 | Docket: 2357064

Cited 2 times | Published

Fla. Stat. _____ Gestational surrogacy records. § 742.16(9), Fla. Stat. _____ Guardianship reports and

In Re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure-Management of Cases Involving Complex Litigation

30 So. 3d 477, 34 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 576, 2009 Fla. LEXIS 1795, 2009 WL 3296237

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 15, 2009 | Docket: 1120602

Cited 2 times | Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

Angel Givoanni Rivera and Ashley Nicole Isabel Brito v. Jennifer Salas

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 19, 2024 | Docket: 68958705

Published

preembryos); § 742.15 (contract required for surrogacy); § 742.16 (petitions for affirmation of parental status);

In Re: Amendments To Florida Family Law Rules Of Procedure – Forms 12.900(h) and 12.928

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 15, 2024 | Docket: 68344279

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re: Amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure - Forms 12.900(h) and 12.928

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 14, 2024 | Docket: 68272545

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re: Amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure - Forms 12.900(h) and 12.928

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Feb 22, 2024 | Docket: 68272545

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Probate Rules, Florida Rules of Traffic Court, Florida Small Claims Rules, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 28, 2021 | Docket: 60680655

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Probate Rules, Florida Rules of Traffic Court, Florida Small Claims Rules, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 28, 2021 | Docket: 60688689

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure - 2020 Regular-Cycle Report

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Nov 12, 2020 | Docket: 18620269

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In Re Amendments to FLORIDA RULE OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION 2.420

156 So. 3d 499, 40 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 29, 43 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1199, 2015 Fla. LEXIS 113, 2015 WL 263902

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 22, 2015 | Docket: 2626843

Published

Stat. (xiv) Gestational surrogacy records. § 742.16(9), Fla. Stat. (xv) Guardianship reports

In re Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure

126 So. 3d 228, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 837, 2013 WL 6014354, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2475

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Nov 14, 2013 | Docket: 60236344

Published

parental status pursuant to Florida Statutes section 742.16, termination of parental rights proceedings

In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420

124 So. 3d 819, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 199, 2013 WL 1234993, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 543

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 28, 2013 | Docket: 60235570

Published

Fla. Stat. (xiv) Gestational surrogacy records. § 742.16(9), Fla. Stat. (xv) Guardianship reports, and