K.W., THE MOTHER
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, AND STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE
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The Third District Court of Appeal reversed a final judgment terminating the Mother's parental rights because the general magistrate conducted an advisory hearing without an appropriate order of referral from the trial court, lacking the procedural authority to do so.
No. The general magistrate lacked authority to conduct the advisory hearing because Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.257(b)(1) requires an appropriate order of referral and consent of all parties before a general magistrate may hear any matter. Without such an order, the proceedings were procedurally defective.
[1] A circuit court has exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings involving the termination of parental rights and may not delegate such proceedings to a general m…
[2] A general magistrate lacks authority to conduct any hearing in a termination of parental rights case absent an express order of referral from the trial court, regardless…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“No matter shall be heard by a general magistrate without an appropriate order of referral and the consent to the referral of all parties.”
Establishes the procedural requirement that a general magistrate must have both a referral order and party consent to exercise jurisdiction.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Department of Children and Family Services filed a petition to terminate K.W.'s parental rights as to her child. On November 1, 2023, a general ma…
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Opinion filed October 30, 2024. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D24-0400 Lower Tribunal No. D21-15242
________________
K.W., the Mother,
Appellant,
vs.
Department of Children and Families and Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Scott M. Bernstein, Judge. Cooke Law, P.A., and Stewart M. Cooke, for appellant. Karla F. Perkins; Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Laura J. Lee and Roxanna Patricia Figueroa (Tallahassee), for appellees. Before EMAS, SCALES and GORDO, JJ. GORDO, J. K.W. (the “Mother”) appeals a final judgment terminating her parental rights. We have jurisdiction. Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(1)(A). Because the general magistrate lacked authority to conduct the advisory hearing in the proceedings below, we reverse.
I.
The Department of Children and Family Services (“DCF”) filed a termination of parental rights petition against the Mother. The petition sought the termination of the Mother’s parental rights as to L.B.W. (the “Child”). On November1, 2023, a general magistrate held an advisory hearing on the petition for termination of parental rights. The advisory hearing was conducted without a referral order from the trial court. After the Mother failed to appear at the hearing, she filed a motion to set aside the default. The trial court subsequently denied the motion and entered a final judgment terminating the Mother’s parental rights. This appeal followed. II. “Because the matter presents a question of law, we review the matter de novo.” Dye v. Advantage Venture Partners, Ltd., 869 So. 2d 630, 630 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004).
On appeal, the Mother argues the general magistrate lacked authority to conduct the advisory hearing without a referral order from the trial court. She maintains that because the advisory hearing was conducted without judicial authority, the trial court’s reliance on facts from said hearing, including the Mother’s failure to appear, renders the final judgment terminating her parental rights void.1 In Florida, it is well-settled that a trial court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings involving the termination of parental rights. See § 39.801(2), Fla. Stat. (“The circuit court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of a proceeding involving termination of parental rights.”). The trial court, however, has the authority to refer matters to a general magistrate with an appropriate order of referral and the consent of all parties. See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.257(b)(1) (“No matter shall be heard by a general magistrate without an appropriate order of referral and the consent to the referral of all parties.”). While a parent may object to the referral to a general magistrate by filing a written objection, the failure to do so is considered consent to the referral order. See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.257(b)(2) (“A written objection to the
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