Arkansas

Family Law

Family Law

Section 9-9-205 – Jurisdiction – Venue – Inconvenient forum – Disclosure of name

(a) Jurisdiction of adoption of minors:

(1) The state shall possess jurisdiction over the adoption of a minor if the person seeking to adopt the child, or the child, is a resident of this state.
(2) For purposes of this subchapter:

(A) A child under the age of six (6) months shall be considered a resident of this state if the:

(i) Child’s birth mother resided in Arkansas for more than four (4) months immediately preceding the birth of the child;
(ii) Child was born in this state or in any border city that adjoins the Arkansas state line or is separated only by a navigable river from an Arkansas city that adjoins the Arkansas state line; and
(iii) Child remains in this state until the interlocutory decree has been entered, or in the case of a nonresident adoptive family, upon the receipt of approval pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, § 9-29-201 et seq., the child and the prospective adoptive parents may go back to their state of residence and subsequently may return to Arkansas for a hearing on the petition for adoption;
(B) A child over the age of six (6) months shall be considered a resident of this state if the child:

(i) Has resided in this state for a period of six (6) months;
(ii) Currently resides in Arkansas; and
(iii) Is present in this state at the time the petition for adoption is filed and heard by a court having appropriate jurisdiction; and
(C) A person seeking to adopt is a resident of this state if the person:

(i) Occupies a dwelling within the state;
(ii) Has a present intent to remain within the state for a period of time; and
(iii) Manifests the genuineness of that intent by establishing an ongoing physical presence within the state together with indications that the person’s presence within the state is something other than merely transitory in nature.
(3)

(A) If the juvenile is the subject matter of an open case filed under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9-27-301 et seq., the adoption petition shall be filed in that case.
(B) The circuit court shall retain jurisdiction to issue orders of adoption, interlocutory or final, when a juvenile is placed outside the State of Arkansas.
(4) A petition for adoption may not be asserted in a guardianship proceeding, but a separate action shall be filed, and the clerk shall assign a new case number and charge a filing fee unless the filing fee is waived under Rule 72 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(b) Jurisdiction of adoption of adults: Physical presence of the petitioner or petitioners or the individual to be adopted shall be sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction.
(c) Venue:

(1) Proceedings for adoption must be brought in the county in which, at the time of filing or granting the petition, the petitioner or petitioners, or the individual to be adopted resides or is in military service or in which the agency having the care, custody, or control of the minor is located.
(2) If the court finds in the interest of substantial justice that the matter should be heard in another forum, the court may transfer, stay, or dismiss the proceedings in whole or in part on any conditions that are just.
(d) The caption of a petition for adoption shall be styled substantially “In the matter of the Adoption” The person to be adopted shall be designated in the caption under the name by which he or she is to be known if the petition is granted.
(e) If the child is placed for adoption, any name by which the child was previously known may be disclosed in the petition, the notice of hearing, or in the decree of adoption.
(f) In the event the child dies during the time that the child is placed in the home of an adoptive parent or parents for the purpose of adoption, the court has the authority to enter a final decree of adoption after the child’s death upon the request of the adoptive parent.

Ark. Code § 9-9-205

Amended by Act 2013, No. 282,§ 1, eff. 3/6/2013
Acts 1977, No. 735, § 5; A.S.A. 1947, § 56-205; Acts 1991, No. 658, § 1; 2001, No. 383, § 1; 2001, No. 1029, § 1; 2003, No. 650, §§ 1, 8; 2007, No. 539, §§ 1, 2