Single people and married couples are allowed to adopt children in Arkansas. But what if you are married and want to adopt a child as an individual, without your spouse? Is adopting without your spouse possible in Arkansas?

It depends

As so often in cases of law, the answer to that question is a firm, “It depends.”

Arkansas law allows a married person to adopt without their spouse under certain circumstances:

  • If you are the stepparent of the child and your spouse is the biological parent, you an adopt as ask individual. Stepparent adoption is the most common reason a married person would choose to adopt without their spouse. You can adopt your wife’s child, for example, as an individual without your spouse if she consents.
  • If you are legally separated from your spouse.
  • If it is impossible for your spouse to join in the adoption.

Absence or incapacity

What could make it impossible for your spouse to consent to an adoption? The law says that the court can approve adopting without your spouse in case of “prolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, incapacity, or circumstances constituting an unreasonable withholding of consent.”

If your spouse has disappeared or abandoned you, is unavailable during the adoption for some good reason, or is unable to consent to the adoption because of physical or mental inability to give consent, the court can allow an adoption without your spouse.

“Unreasonable withholding of consent”

The section on “an unreasonable withholding of consent” is a common phrase in legal documents. There are laws and contracts that a low people to consent or refuse consent for any reason at all, and other laws or documents that do not allow unreasonable refusals. For example, a landlord can’t usually evict a tenant for hanging a piece of artwork the landlord finds objectionable.

In the case of an adoption, the court would have to determine whether the spouse withholding consent had reasonable grounds to refuse consent or not. Each case would have to be decided on its own merits. The court would consider the best interests of the child in making the decision.

What is the process for adopting without your spouse?

Even though it is most common for a married couple to grow their family by adoption together, it is possible for a married individual to adopt without their spouse in the cases described above. Stepparent adoption is the most common example.

In any case, the process of adoption will be the same. While a stepparent adoption may not require a home stay, other adoptions by a married individual will require all the normal steps for a legal adoption. Heimer Law specializes in adoption. We have the experience and expertise to handle unusual adoptions with special circumstances. Contact us or fill out our simple inquiry form to begin the process.

Inquiry Form