Arkansas

Family Law

Family Law

Section 9-9-220 – [Effective 90 days after sine die adjournment] Relinquishment and termination of parent and child relationship

(a) With the exception of the duty to pay child support, the rights of a parent with reference to a child, including parental right to control the child or to withhold consent to an adoption, may be relinquished and the relationship of parent and child terminated in or prior to an adoption proceeding as provided in this section. The duty of a parent to pay child support shall continue until an interlocutory decree of adoption is entered.
(b) All rights of a parent with reference to a child, including the right to receive notice of a hearing on a petition for adoption, may be relinquished and the relationship of parent and child terminated by a writing, signed by an adult parent, subject to the court’s approval.

If the parent is a minor, the writing shall be signed by a guardian ad litem who is appointed to appear on behalf of the minor parent for the purpose of executing such a writing. The signing shall occur in the presence of a representative of an agency taking custody of the child, or in the presence of a notary public, whether the agency is within or without the state, or in the presence and with the approval of a judge of a court of record of this state or any other state in which the minor was present at the time it was signed. The relinquishment shall be executed in the same manner as for a consent to adopt under § 9-9-208.

(1)

(A) The relinquishment may be withdrawn within ten (10) calendar days, or, if a waiver of the ten-day period is elected under subdivision (b)(3) of this section, five (5) calendar days after it is signed or the child is born, whichever is later.

(i) Notice of withdrawal shall be given by filing an affidavit with the probate division clerk of the circuit court in the county designated by the writing as the county in which the guardianship petition will be filed if there is a guardianship, or where the petition for adoption will be filed, if there is no guardianship. If the ten-day period, or, if a waiver of the ten-day period is elected under subdivision (b)(3) of this section, the five-day period ends on a weekend or legal holiday, the person may file the affidavit the next working day.
(ii) No fee shall be charged for the filing of the affidavit.
(B) The relinquishment shall state that the parent has this right of withdrawal and shall provide the address of the probate division clerk of the circuit court in which the guardianship will be filed if there is a guardianship, or where the petition for adoption will be filed if there is no guardianship; or
(2) In any other situation, if notice of the adoption proceeding has been given to the parent and the court finds, after considering the circumstances of the relinquishment and the continued custody by the petitioner, that the best interest of the child requires the granting of the adoption.
(3) The relinquishment shall state that the person may waive the ten-day period for the withdrawal of relinquishment for an adoption and to elect to limit the maximum time for the withdrawal of relinquishment for an adoption to five (5) days.
(c) In addition to any other proceeding provided by law, the relationship of parent and child may be terminated by a court order issued under this subchapter on any ground provided by other law for termination of the relationship, or on the following grounds:

(1) Abandonment as defined in § 9-9-202(7).
(2) Neglect or abuse, when the court finds the causes are irremediable or will not be remedied by the parent.

(A) If the parents have failed to make reasonable efforts to remedy the causes and such failure has occurred for twelve (12) months, such failure shall raise the rebuttable presumption that the causes will not be remedied.
(B) If the parents have attempted to remedy the causes but have failed to do so within twelve (12) months, and the court finds there is no reasonable likelihood the causes will be remedied by the eighteenth month, the failures shall raise the rebuttable presumption that the causes will not be remedied.
(3) That in the case of a parent not having custody of a child, his or her consent is being unreasonably withheld contrary to the best interest of the child.
(d) For the purpose of proceeding under this subchapter, a decree terminating all rights of a parent with reference to a child or the relationship of parent and child issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state dispenses with the consent to adoption proceedings of a parent whose rights or parent and child relationship are terminated by the decree and with any required notice of an adoption proceeding other than as provided in this section.
(e) A petition for termination of the relationships of parent and child made in connection with an adoption proceeding may be made by:

(1) Either parent if termination of the relationship is sought with respect to the other parent;
(2) The petitioner for adoption, the guardian of the person, the legal custodian of the child, or the individual standing in parental relationship to the child or the attorney ad litem for the child;
(3) An agency; or
(4) Any other person having a legitimate interest in the matter.
(f)

(1) The petition shall be filed and service obtained according to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(2) Before the petition is heard, notice of the hearing and the opportunity to be heard shall be given the parents of the child, the guardian of the child, the person having legal custody of the child, a person appointed to represent any party in this proceeding, and any person granted rights of care, control, or visitation by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a relinquishment of parental rights with respect to a child executed under this section may be withdrawn by the parent, and a decree of a court terminating the parent-child relationship under this section may be vacated by the court upon motion of the parent if the child is not on placement for adoption and the person having custody of the child consents in writing to the withdrawal or vacation of the decree.
(h)

(1) A parent who relinquishes his or her parental rights under this section shall have limited, independent legal representation for the purpose of:

(A) Executing the relinquishment; and
(B) Withdrawing the relinquishment if the parent elects to withdraw the relinquishment as permitted under this section.
(2) The attorney:

(A) Shall not represent any other party in the adoption; and
(B) Shall certify, by signing the writing after its execution by the parent, that:

(i) The attorney has explained to the parent the effect of relinquishing his or her parental rights; and
(ii) The parent appeared to relinquish his or her parental rights voluntarily and of his or her own free will.
(3) This subsection shall not apply to an adoption if the petitioner is:

(A) A stepparent whose spouse is a natural or adoptive parent of the child to be adopted;
(B) Related to the child to be adopted within the second degree as defined in § 28-9-212; or
(C) Represented by an attorney pro bono in the adoption proceeding.
(4)

(A) A parent who relinquishes his or her parental rights under this section may elect not to be represented by independent attorney as provided in subdivision (h)(1) of this section by signing under oath, in the presence of a notary public, an affidavit that includes the following:

(i) A statement that the parent understands that he or she has been offered limited representation by an attorney, who does not also represent the petitioner, to provide the parent with independent legal advice concerning the effects of relinquishing parental rights;
(ii) A statement that the parent understands that the petitioner is willing to pay for the limited representation; and
(iii) A statement that the parent has, after considering his or her right to an independent attorney, knowingly and voluntarily and without coercion or undue influence from any other person elected not to be represented by an attorney for the purpose of executing the relinquishment and, if the parent elects, withdrawing the relinquishment.
(B) This affidavit shall, before the petition is heard, be filed with the court having jurisdiction over the adoption proceeding.
(i)

(1) If a parent who relinquishes his or her parental rights under this section does not speak English as a native language, the parent shall be provided a qualified interpreter for the purpose of interpreting the relinquishment into the native language of the parent before its execution by the parent unless a petitioner is:

(A) A stepparent whose spouse is a natural or adoptive parent of the child to be adopted;
(B) Related to the child to be adopted within the second degree as defined in § 28-9-212; or
(C) Represented by an attorney pro bono in the adoption proceeding.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a qualified interpreter is an interpreter who appears on the current registry of court interpreters maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts under § 16-10-1101 et seq.
(3) The interpreter services:

(A) Shall be paid for by the petitioner; and
(B) May be provided in person, by telephone, by a videoconferencing application, or by comparable means.
(4) If required, the relinquishment shall:

(A) Identify the native language of the parent;
(B) Provide the name and qualifications of the qualified interpreter; and
(C) Describe the method used by the qualified interpreter to interpret the relinquishment.
(5) A parent to whom subdivision (i)(1) of this section applies may elect not to use a court interpreter by signing under oath, in the presence of a notary public, an affidavit that includes the following:

(A) A statement that identifies the native language of the parent;
(B) An acknowledgment that the parent has been offered a qualified interpreter to interpret the relinquishment into the parent’s native language;
(C) An acknowledgment that the petitioner is willing to pay for the qualified interpreter;
(D) A statement that the parent elects not to use a qualified interpreter in executing the relinquishment because:

(i) The parent is proficient enough in English to understand the legal documents without the assistance of a qualified interpreter; or
(ii) The parent’s attorney can explain in the parent’s native language the relinquishment and implications of signing a relinquishment of parental rights; and
(E) A statement that the parent elects not to use a qualified interpreter knowingly and voluntarily, and without coercion or undue influence from any other person.
(6) The affidavit under subdivision (i)(5) of this section shall be:

(A) In English; and
(B) Translated into the native language of the parent by a qualified interpreter; and
(C) Filed, before the petition is heard, with the court having jurisdiction over the adoption proceeding.

Ark. Code § 9-9-220

Amended by Act 2021, No. 599,§ 3, eff. 90 days after sine die adjournment.
Acts 1977, No. 735, § 20; 1985, No. 879, §§ 2-4; A.S.A. 1947, § 56-220; Acts 1991, No. 774, § 5; 1991, No. 1214, § 2; 1995, No. 1184, § 22; 1995, No. 1284, § 2; 1995, No. 1335, § 6; 1997, No. 1227, § 15; 1999, No. 518, § 2; 1999, No. 945, § 3; 2001, No. 1779, § 1; 2003, No. 1185, § 8; 2003, No. 1743, § 1; 2009, No. 219, § 1; 2009, No. 230, § 2
This section is set out more than once. See also Ark. Code § 9-9-220, effective until 90 days after sine die adjournment.