Same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, but parental rights don’t automatically follow a legal marriage. When an individual marries a person with a child, they become a stepparent, but not a legal parent. Even if a couple works together to conceive a child through in vitro technology, only one partner may be considered the parent. In Arkansas, though, same-sex married couples can take advantage of stepparent adoption. Same-sex stepparent adoptions are on the rise.
Same-sex couples can legally adopt
At one time, some states did not allow same-sex couples to adopt. Some states in fact did not allow LGBTQ people to adopt at all. Mississippi was the last state to drop the law forbidding this. Arkansas at one time had a law which allowed only married couples to adopt, which at that time prevented same-sex couples or individuals from adopting. This is no longer the case.
With these legal obstacles removed, LGBTQ individuals and married couples can adopt. In some states, there is an option called “second parent adoption” which allows unmarried partners to adopt one another’s children without terminating the parental rights of the biological parent. This is not an option in Arkansas.
For married couples, however, step parent adoption is legal, regardless of the gender of the stepparent. As long as the adoption is not contested by the other birth parent, a woman’s wife can adopt her child just as a woman’s husband can.
Could this change?
A Supreme Court case, Obergefell v. Hodges, determined that same-sex marriage should be legal and recognized in every state. The Respect for Marriage Act confirmed this. There are observers who believe that these decisions might be overturned. If same-sex marriage became illegal in Arkansas, step parent adoption would no longer be possible for same-sex married couples.
For parents who have been putting off the decision to adopt, the possibility that they might lose that ability can be motivating. Adoption lawyers are seeing increases in same-sex stepparent adoptions, and it may be for this reason.
On the other hand, the numbers of adoptions of this kind have been increasing gradually over time. As society becomes more open to diverse families, same-sex stepparent adoptions have become more common. Many parents want the stability and closeness of stepparent adoption regardless of the possibility of legal changes in the future.
Heimer Law specializes in adoption and we have experience with many different kinds of adoption journeys. Contact us for a free consultation and get answers to all your questions.
Inquiry Form