§ 9-9-224 — Child born to unmarried mother

In all cases involving a child born to a mother unmarried at the time of the child's birth, the following procedure shall apply: (a) Upon filing of the petition for adoption and prior to the entry of a decree for adoption a certified statement shall be obtained from the Putative Father Registry stating: (1) The information contained in the registry in regard to the child who is the subject of the adoption; or (2) That no information is contained in the registry at the time the petition for adoption was filed. (b) When information concerning the child is contained in the registry at the time of the filing of the petition for adoption, notice of the adoption proceedings shall be served on the registrant unless waived by the registrant in writing signed before a notary public. All confidential information regarding the adoptive parents and the child to be adopted shall be removed from the notice prior to being served to the registrant. Service of notice under this section shall be given in accordance with the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, except that notice by publication shall not be required. (c) Upon receipt of notice, the registrant, if he wishes to appear and be heard, shall file a responsive pleading within the time limits set in the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure. (d) This section does not apply to an adoption when: (1) An order terminating the rights of the minor's parents has been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state before the filing of the petition for adoption, regardless of whether the parents consented to termination of parental rights; or (2) The minor was adopted in a separate adoption proceeding before the filing of the current petition for adoption.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2023, No. 639,§ 7, eff. 8/1/2023. Acts 1989, No. 496, § 7; 1999, No. 1229, § 1