ARKANSAS

 Any single adult; husband and wife jointly, even if one or both are minors;and the unmarried father or mother of the adoptee can adopt. A married person,without the other spouse joining, can adopt if the adoptive parent is thestepparent and the other spouse consents, the spouses are legally separated, orthe court has excused the spouse from consenting to the adoption.

Who Can Be Adopted?

 Any person can be adopted.

Consent to Adoption

 Written consent must be given by the following parties:

(1) the mother;

(2) the father of the child, if he was married to the mother at the time thechild was conceived or at any time thereafter, if he adopted the child, if hehad custody of the child at the time the petition for adoption is filed, or ifhe has otherwise legitimated the child;

(3) any person who has custody of the child, or the court if the legal guardianis not empowered to consent;

(4) the adoptee, if 10 years of age or older, unless the court waives this;and

(5) the spouse of the adoptee.

 No consent is required of the following parties:

(1) a parent who has deserted or abandoned a child;

(2) a parent of a child in the custody of another person if the parent hasfailed to unjustifiably communicate with or provide care and support for thechild for at least 1 year;

(3) a parent who has given up his or her right to consent, whose parentalrights have been terminated, or who has been declared incompetent or mentallydefective;

(4) any legal guardian, other than the parent, who has failed to respond to arequest for consent after a 60-day period, or who is withholding consentunreasonably; or

(5) the spouse of the adoptee's consent may be excused by the court because ofprolonged absence, unavailability, incapacity, or unreasonable withholding ofconsent.

 An adult may be adopted if both the adult and the adult's spouse consent.Consent may take place at any time after the birth of the child and cannot bewithdrawn after the entry of the decree of adoption. Consent may be withdrawnbefore the entry of the decree of adoption, but must be withdrawn within tencalendar days after the consent was given or after the child was born,whichever is later.

Confidentiality

 All adoption hearings are held in closed court. All records and papers inconnection with the adoption are sealed and are subject to inspection only bythe consent of the court and all interested parties.

 Nonidentifying information may be given to the adoptive parents, or the adultadoptee, upon a court order for good cause. This information will only bewithheld if it would identify a biological relative of the adoptee. Thisnonidentifying information may include adoptee's date of birth andnonidentifying health history of the parents. The name of the adoptive parentor the adoptive child may not be disclosed, except if authorized in writing bythe adoptive parent or the adoptee, if 14 years of age or older, or upon orderof the court for good cause.

 A mutual consent voluntary adoption registry may be established and maintainedby any licensed voluntary agency involved in an adoption. If both the adultadoptee and each birth parent agree to release identifying information, thenthis information can be dispersed.

Permissible Fees

 The parent or guardian of the adoptee cannot receive a fee, compensation, orany other thing of value for placing the child for adoption. Any unlawfulcompensation of this kind is punishable as a felony. However, expensesconnected with childbirth and the adoption process may be paid. A fullaccounting of all disbursements in connection with the adoption shall besubmitted to the court.

Place of Adoption Hearing

 The hearing may take place where the adoptive parent or the adoptee resides,or where the agency that has custody of the child is located. The court maytransfer, keep, or dismiss the case if in the interest of justice.

Authority To Place Child

 Any person or agency certified, licensed, or otherwise specifically empoweredby law can place the child for adoption.

Relative Adoption

 If the child is a racial or ethnic minority, the court shall give preferenceto a relative of the child in adoption, unless that would be detrimental to thechild or relative. The court may waive the investigation report in the case ofan adoption by a stepparent or relative.

Putative Father Registry

 In cases involving a child born to an unmarried mother, a search must be madeof potential fathers in the putative father registry. If someone has filed aclaim of paternity, he must receive notice of the pending adoption. Afterbeing notified, the putative father has a given time, set by the State, toclaim an interest in the child.

State Law: FullText

Not available in electronic form at this time for this state, sorry.

Attorney Referral Service

Arkansas Bar Association
400 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 375-4605

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