D.M., a juvenile, and R.M., the Father v. Department of Children and Families
In consolidated appeals from a judgment terminating both parents' rights, the Third DCA held that where termination rests on a parent's statutory voluntary surrender under section 39.806(1)(a), Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.520(c)'s requirement of 'findings of fact specifying the act or acts causing the termination' does not apply, because the rule by its terms governs only a plea of admission or consent and because such findings would contradict the statute making voluntary surrender alone a sufficient ground. The court also rejected the child's due process challenge to the trial court's acceptance of the mother's surrender over his objection and without an independent evidentiary hearing, and certified conflict with the Fifth DCA's decision in C.B. v. B.C.
Key facts
- D.M., a juvenile, and R.M., the Father appealed from a trial court judgment terminating both parents' parental rights in a dependency case.
- The mother executed a statutory voluntary written surrender of the child under section 39.806(1)(a), and the trial court accepted the surrender and terminated parental rights without making specific findings of fact about acts causing termination and over the child's objection.
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Why it matters
The opinion creates an express certified conflict with the Fifth DCA on whether rule 8.520(c)'s findings requirement attaches to terminations based on a statutory voluntary surrender, setting up possible Florida Supreme… — full analysis with a trial
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