Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-210 (2020)
Petition for adoption
-
A petition for adoption signed and verified by the petitioner shall be filed with the clerk of the court, and state:
- The date and place of birth of the individual to be adopted, if known;
- The name to be used for the individual to be adopted;
-
The date the petitioner:
- Acquired custody of the minor and of placement of the minor and the name of the person placing the minor; and a statement as to how the petitioner acquired custody of the minor; or
- Was selected to adopt the minor by the child placement agency licensed by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board;
- The full name, age, place, and duration of residence of the petitioner;
- The marital status of the petitioner, including the date and place of marriage, if married;
- That the petitioner has facilities and resources, including those available under a subsidy agreement, suitable to provide for the nurture and care of the minor to be adopted and that it is the desire of the petitioner to establish the relationship of parent and child with the individual to be adopted;
- A description and estimate of value of any property of the individual to be adopted;
- The name of any person whose consent to the adoption is required, but who has not consented, and facts or circumstances which excuse the lack of his or her normally required consent, to the adoption; and
-
In cases involving a child born to a mother unmarried at the time of the child's birth, a statement that an inquiry has been made to the Putative Father Registry and either:
- No information has been filed in regard to the child born to this mother; or
- Information is contained in the registry.
- A certified copy of the birth certificate or verfication of birth record of the individual to be adopted, if available, and the required consents and relinquishments shall be filed with the clerk.
History. Acts 1977, No. 735, § 10; A.S.A. 1947, § 56-210; Acts 1989, No. 496, § 6; 2011, No. 607, § 2.
Amendments. The 2011 amendment subdivided (a)(3) and added the (a)(3)(A) designation and (a)(3)(B).
Research References
Ark. L. Notes.
Sampson, Coats, & Barger, Arkansas' Putative Father Registry and Related Adoption Code Provisions: Inadequate Protection for Thwarted Putative Fathers, 1997 Ark. L. Notes 49.
Case Notes
Standing to Adopt.
Subdivision (a)(3) of this section provides that a petition for adoption shall state “the date the petitioner acquired custody of the minor and of placement of the minor and the name of the person placing the minor; and a statement as to how petitioner acquired custody of the minor.” That language, having to do with the contents of the petition, does not mean that a person who does not have custody and with whom the child has not been “placed” has no standing; standing to adopt is conferred by § 9-9-204, and that statute does not exclude persons who have served as foster parents of the minor to be adopted. Patterson v. Robbins, 295 Ark. 511, 749 S.W.2d 330 (1988).
Substantial Compliance.
A petition for the adoption of a child held a sufficient compliance. Taylor v. Collins, 172 Ark. 541, 289 S.W. 466 (1927) (decision under prior law); Ark. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Couch, 38 Ark. App. 165, 832 S.W.2d 265 (1992).
A petition for adoption is valid where there is substantial compliance with the statutory requirements; strict compliance is not required. Reid v. Frazee, 72 Ark. App. 474, 41 S.W.3d 397 (2001).
Adoptive parents did not fail to comply with subdivision (a)(8) of this section because the biological father's consent to the adoption was not required, and consent to this adoption was not required of any other person. Lagios v. Goldman, 2016 Ark. 59, 483 S.W.3d 810, cert. denied, — U.S. —, 137 S. Ct. 77, 196 L. Ed. 2d 35 (2016).
Adoptive parents did not fail to comply with subdivision (a)(9) of this section because the need for an inquiry into the Putative Father Registry had already been obviated when the petition for adoption was filed, and DNA testing had already established who the child's biological father was. Lagios v. Goldman, 2016 Ark. 59, 483 S.W.3d 810, cert. denied, — U.S. —, 137 S. Ct. 77, 196 L. Ed. 2d 35 (2016).
Failure of an adoption petition to include all of the information required by the statute did not deprive the circuit court of jurisdiction because all of the information was made part of the record before the adoption decree was entered. Lagios v. Goldman, 2016 Ark. 59, 483 S.W.3d 810, cert. denied, — U.S. —, 137 S. Ct. 77, 196 L. Ed. 2d 35 (2016).
Cited: In re Reeves, 309 Ark. 385, 831 S.W.2d 607 (1992).