The United States doesn’t have federal adoption laws covering adoption in every state. Since the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that states make their own decisions about everything not covered in the U.S. Constitution — and adoption is one of those things — each state makes its own laws. Then what is the Uniform Adoption Act?
The UAA
The Uniform Adoption Act of 1994, or UAA, is a model law for states, not a federal law governing all domestic adoptions. The UAA was drafted by the Uniform Law Commission in 1994 with the goal of providing a single, comprehensive framework that states could use to standardize their adoption laws. The idea was to create consistency across state lines in areas like who can adopt, the requirements for parental consent, and the legal finality of an adoption.
That didn’t happen. Some states have used the UAA as a model for their laws, but to this day each state has its own laws. and they are often very different from one state to another. This is why there is a special law, the ICPC, which covers interstate adoptions. That way, when the adoptive parents live in one state and the adopted child lives in another state, it’s possible;e to make sure that the adoption is legal for all parties.
But wait — there’s more!
Another law called the UAA is the Universal Accreditation Act of 2012, a federal law about international adoptions.
As it happens, the Uniform Adoption Act was not the model for Arkansas adoption laws.
The RUAA
In 1977, Arkansas Governor David Pryor signed a new Arkansas adoption law based on the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, or RUAA. The RUAA was based on an earlier version of the Uniform Adoption Act.
There were quite a few changes in Arkansas adoption laws with the new bill:
- Minors couldn’t adopt before the 1977 law, but the new law allowed married couples to adopt even if pneumonia or both of them were minors.
- Unmarried people couldn’t adopt before, but the 1977 law made an exception for the biological parents of the child. The birth mother, for example, could adopt her baby even if she was unmarried.
- A married individual could adopt a child without his or her spouse if the couple were legally separated.
- A married individual could also adopt without making it a joint adoption if their spouse was the biological parent of the child. Nowadays, we would call this stepparent adoption. The birth father, for example, would not have to adopt his own child with his wife. She could adopt as a stepparent without having a joint adoption with her husband.
- The law lowered the age at which a child must consent to his or her own adoption. It had been 14, but the RUAA changed it to 10.
- It also required the consent of the spouse of an adult wishing to be adopted.
- The new law made it easier to keep adoption information confidential.
- It specified that an adopted child could not inherit from their biological parents unless those parents named the child in their will. The adopted child could not inherit as next of kin.
Most of these changes were intended to make it easier for people to adopt children or to clarify issues that had gone to court prior to the new law.
Current adoption law
The current adoption law is still called the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, but it has been changed many times, most recently in April, 2025.
Adoption is a legal process, and like any legal process, it can be complicated and confusing. You must have a qualified adoption lawyer to support you through your adoption process. Heimer Law specializes in adoptions. Contact us for your free consultation, either by calling (479) 225.9725 or by using our simple form.
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