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As a general rule, a parent must consent to the adoption of his or her child. But rules have exceptions. The Arkansas Court of Appeals case recently upheld an order which said that a mother’s consent was NOT required in the adoption case filed by the stepmother of her four children. Under Arkansas law, a parent’s consent is not required if, for a period of at least one year, the parent fails to significantly and without justifiable cause to (i) communicate with the child OR (ii) fails to provide for the care and support of the child as required by law or judicial decree.

In this 2016 case, the parents of the four children were divorced. The mother tested positive for methamphetami...

November is known as National Adoption month. Why do we need a special month for adoption? This focus is needed because many people simply don't know how many kids are waiting for adoption. As the saying goes, "if something is out of sight, it is out of mind."

In April of this year, the Arkansas Department of Human Services released their statistics for the 2015 fiscal year. it showed that there were 586 children ready for adoption. This is up approximately 30 percent from fiscal year 2012.

586 children are ready for adoption. Can you believe that? 586 is more than a number on a government chart. That number represents real people waiting for something that we probably take for granted - a fam...

Wouldn’t it be great if adoptive parents got the same amount of maternity / paternity leave as biological parents? Believe it or not, that’s already the law in Arkansas.

According to Arkansas statute § 9-9-105, if your employer gives maternity/paternity leave for biological parents, they have to give you the same leave if you adopt a child. Arkansas law also says that any other benefit provided by the employer has to be the same, such as a job guarantee or pay guarantee. This law does not apply in step-parent adoptions, adult adoptions, or the adoption of a foster child by the child’s foster parents.

For more details, contact Chuck Buchan at chuck@arkansasadoptionattorne...

Lagios v. Goldman, a 2016 case decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court, addressed the issue of when a father’s consent is required in an adoption case. Unless he falls into one of these categories, a father’s consent is not required:

1. He was married to the mother of the child at the time of conception or at any time thereafter.

2. He is the father of the minor child by adoption.

3. He has physical custody of the child at the time the petition is filed. Note this is physical custody vs. legal custody. This might happen when the mother has legal custody of the child, but the child has been living with the father.

4. He has a written order granting him legal custody of the minor at the ...

When someone says the word “adoption,” what usually comes to mind is a picture of a young child being adopted by loving parents. However, there are many occasions when someone is adopted as an adult and this happens more than you think. In 2015, there were 41 adoptions in Arkansas where the adoptee was 18 years old or older. This is about 3% of all adoptions in 2015.

There are many reasons for Adult Adoption, such as:

STEP-PARENT: You may have been raised by a stepparent, and the stepparent wanted to adopt you, but your biological parent refused to consent. Once you are an adult, the consent of the biological parents is NOT required. For a recent example of this type of adult adopt...