Adoption is a complex process, and quite a few people are likely to be involved. One question that is likely to come up: who needs to know? Arkansas law specifies who must receive adoption notifications and when.
If you are adopting a newborn, you will have taken many steps before the petition for adoption actually goes to court. You will have made decisions about the kind of adoption you want — open or closed — and you will have had a home study, background checks, and conversations with adoption professionals. You might have met and talked with the expectant mom. You’ve met the baby, too, and the birth mom has relinquished her parental rights. The time period during which she can change her mind has passed, and you’re ready for your court date.
But there’s an important step that must be completed before the court goes into session. 20 days before that date, you must be sure that anyone requiring notification gets that notification.
What are adoption notifications?
Arkansas adoption law is very specific: you must tell anyone on the list below not only that the adoption is taking place, but also the time and place of the hearing. They must be able to attend the hearing. That doesn’t mean that you must make the schedule convenient for them, but they can’t miss the hearing because they didn’t know that it was coming up.
Who must be notified?
Anyone who could legally refuse consent for the adoption must be notified:
- The birth mother, if she has not yet consented
- The father, if he is on the Putative Father registry, is married to the mother, or has been acknowledged as the father by a court
- Anyone who has legal custody of the child
- The person being adopted, if he or she is 10 years old or older and has not yet consented
- The spouse of the person being adopted
Nobody else needs to be notified. The grandparents, other relatives of either the adoptive or birth family, or employers are not on that list.
What if the person can’t be found?
This all seems straightforward. About three weeks before the date of the hearing, anyone who should consent and hasn’t yet done so needs to be informed that there will be an adoption hearing, and told the time and place of that hearing.
But that might not be as easy as it sounds. A putative father might have moved away without leaving a forwarding address. An adult adoptee’s spouse might not be around. An older child’s biological mother might not be available.
In these cases, the petitioner — the hopeful adoptive parents — must make a good faith effort to find the individual, and then let the court know that they have been unsuccessful. The court may appoint a lawyer to make a search for the missing person and undertake the adoption notifications.
If the individual cannot be found, there is an alternative. The notification can be placed in newspaper having general circulation in the county where the petitioner lives. This must be done every week for four weeks, finishing up at least seven days before the hearing. A little simple math will tell you that this process will take longer than the 20 days required for notification.
This means that you should not wait until the last minute for the notifications, especially if you are not sure who might be on the list or where they might be living.
Put it on your calendar
Once the date of the hearing is set, check your list of people to notify and make sure you are aware of anyone whose consent could be required. Attempt to notify everyone as soon as possible, to make sure that you are able to reach everyone on that list.
Once it’s done, you can check it off your adoption to-do list.
The truth is, adoption is a complex process, with lots of t’s to cross and i’s to dot. Heimer Law can help to make the entire process as smooth as possible.
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