Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, February 1, 2012
Hetero It Used to Be Illegal for Same-Sex Couples to Adopt in Florida
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 12:14 PM
In fact, I believe it was still illegal for gay couples to adopt back when this straight 48-year-old millionaire adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend:
The multimillionaire trust-fund heir adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend Heather Laruso Hutchins last fall, after being accused of drunk driving in a 2010 accident that left 23-year-old Scott Wilson dead. Goodman is being sued by Wilson’s parents for wrongful death. According to police reports, Goodman ran a stop sign on February 10, 2010 in Wellington, Florida and smashed into Wilson, sending his car into a canal.
Scott Wilson, a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Central Florida, was killed in 2010
Circuit Judge Glenn Kelly had previously ruled that the trust funds set up for his two biological children were off-limits in the lawsuit, according to the Palm Beach Post. Court papers show that Goodman adopted Ms Hutchins in October of last year, CBS12.com reported. ‘My reaction was that it was both awful and brilliant,’ Belray Beach adoption attorney Charlotte Danciu told CBS12.com. The adoption papers state that Hutchins, now a legal child of Goodman, is immediately entitled to at least a third of his trust.
Is incest against the law in Florida? (Thanks to Slog tipper Tim.)
3
Ugh. In Florida, it's legal to have sex with an adopted child, as long as there's no blood relationship. From the article:
"Attorney Wayne Richter told MailOnline that under Florida law, the statutory has no law against having sex with an adopted child as long as there is no lineal consanguinity - meaning there is no close blood tie, such as aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew."
"Attorney Wayne Richter told MailOnline that under Florida law, the statutory has no law against having sex with an adopted child as long as there is no lineal consanguinity - meaning there is no close blood tie, such as aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew."
4
Jesus Christ. Florida is SO FUCKED UP.
Has been for a while, too. I've been reading about the Seminole Wars, when thuggish white folks, including two future US Presidents (Andrew Jackson and John Tyler) stole Florida from the assorted Indian and free black people living there in a manner so egregious that even many American observers at the time were appalled. That's close to 200 years of Florida horror.
Has been for a while, too. I've been reading about the Seminole Wars, when thuggish white folks, including two future US Presidents (Andrew Jackson and John Tyler) stole Florida from the assorted Indian and free black people living there in a manner so egregious that even many American observers at the time were appalled. That's close to 200 years of Florida horror.
5
It's likely that the caselaw that is cited to support this adoption will come from cases of same-sex relationships where the older party adopted the younger, in an attempt to make the younger part of his estate without the opportunity for challenge by the family that the relationship was "unnatural." Is that real-ironic or just Alanis Morisette-ironic?
7
I'm pretty sure that incestuous dating and intimacy between consenting adults is legal in all 50 states, but marriage was (and is) banned. I think consanguinity has no bearing on the legality.
9
I know someone who's doing two years at Monroe for incest. It is most definitely against the law. He'll spend the rest of his life on the sex-offender registry too.
Wikipedia:
In the United States, every state and the District of Columbia have some form of codified incest prohibition.[24] However, individual statutes vary widely. Rhode Island repealed its criminal incest statute in 1989,[24] Ohio only targets parental figures,[24] and New Jersey does not apply any penalties when both parties are 18 years of age or older.[24] Massachusetts issues a penalty of up to 20 years' imprisonment for those engaging in sexual activities with relatives closer than first cousins[24] and Hawaii up to 5 years in jail for "sexual penetration" with certain blood relatives and in-laws.[24]
In all states, close blood-relatives that fall under the incest statutes include father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and in some states, first cousins, although Rhode Island allows uncles to marry their nieces if they are part of a community, such as orthodox Jews, for whom such marriages are permitted. Many states also apply incest laws to non-blood relations including stepparents, step-siblings, and in-laws.[25]
Wikipedia:
In the United States, every state and the District of Columbia have some form of codified incest prohibition.[24] However, individual statutes vary widely. Rhode Island repealed its criminal incest statute in 1989,[24] Ohio only targets parental figures,[24] and New Jersey does not apply any penalties when both parties are 18 years of age or older.[24] Massachusetts issues a penalty of up to 20 years' imprisonment for those engaging in sexual activities with relatives closer than first cousins[24] and Hawaii up to 5 years in jail for "sexual penetration" with certain blood relatives and in-laws.[24]
In all states, close blood-relatives that fall under the incest statutes include father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and in some states, first cousins, although Rhode Island allows uncles to marry their nieces if they are part of a community, such as orthodox Jews, for whom such marriages are permitted. Many states also apply incest laws to non-blood relations including stepparents, step-siblings, and in-laws.[25]
11
It's really difficult for me to see ANY situation where there's good reason to "adopt" an adult as one's child, apart from adopting an adult with disabilities who requires a caretaker.
12
@11, well, we could make up a scenario, yes? How about, a young person starts looking in on a senior neighbor, mowing their lawn, listening to old stories, whatever. Maybe the senior helps out with child care. And the senior's bio kids aren't around, or act like jerks, or even have addiction problems, what have you. If the senior wants to leave their estate to the nice neighbor, it may be easier (depending on the state) to adopt them. A will can be broken in court, and some states have laws about cutting a child out of one's will--this could be a way to get around that.
IANAL
IANAL
14
Actually, It was pretty common in the south for one gay lover to adult adopt the other in a couple so to ensure that they could inherit each other's assets and other family members couldn't cut the lover out of the will and take those assets. If you are in a will and not a related by blood to the decedent, it is very easy for blood relatives to challange the will in court and win. Adoption makes that very, very difficult if not impossible.
16
If you intentionally get drunk, then intentionally get behind the wheel, then it is inaccurate to call the collision that results an "accident".
17
Wasn't adoption of this sort a fairly standard technique in ancient Rome for inheritance, i.e. for Emperors to pick their successors?
18
Incest only applies if one is underage, or if you try for marriage. I'm kind of puzzled as to why he adopted her instead of simply marrying her? There must have been more benefit to being a child than a spouse...
20
Shades of the Roman Empire, where it was common for men to nominate their successors by adopting them as their children and prevent their titles and estates from being attached. Caesar adopted Octavian who adopted Tiberius, who adopted Germanicus, who naturally fathered Caligula (just to stir the pot I guess)...
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