R.F., the father, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (2026)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

R.F., the father, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, and Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office, Appellees.

No. 4D2026-0069

Decided: September 30, 2026

David J. Joffe of Joffe Law, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant. Andrew Feigenbaum of Children's Legal Service, West Palm Beach, for appellee Department of Children and Families. Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Sarah Todd Weitz, Senior Attorney, Appellate Division of the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Tallahassee, for appellee Guardian ad Litem Office.

ON CONFESSION OF ERROR

Appellant, R.F., the father, appeals from the trial court's order denying his motion to vacate the final judgment terminating his parental rights. The trial court denied Appellant's motion on the basis that the motion was not signed by a member in good standing of the Florida Bar.

The Department and Guardian ad Litem concede that the trial court reversibly erred by imposing, without adequate prior notice, the requirement that all future filings be reviewed and signed by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing. See State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999); Day v. State, 903 So. 2d 886, 887 (Fla. 2005); Johnson v. Sobota, 432 So. 3d 54, 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026). We have reviewed, and we accept, the Department's and the Guardian ad Litem Office's commendable confession of error.

Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order denying Appellant's motion to vacate the final judgment terminating his parental rights, and remand for the trial court to issue the requisite order to show cause.

Reversed and remanded with directions.

PER CURIAM.

Gerber, C.J., Conner and Lott, JJ., concur.

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