Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S4/7/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 599
4
5 By: Senators C. Tucker, C. Penzo
6 By: Representatives Hudson, McCullough
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO ELIMINATE INTERLOCUTORY DECREES OF
10 ADOPTION; TO AMEND THE REVISED UNIFORM ADOPTION ACT;
11 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
12
13
14 Subtitle
15 TO ELIMINATE INTERLOCUTORY DECREES OF
16 ADOPTION; AND TO AMEND THE REVISED
17 UNIFORM ADOPTION ACT.
18
19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
20
21 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code � 9-9-104(c), concerning the collection of
22 adoption information, is amended to read as follows:
23 (c) Before the entry of an interlocutory or a final decree of
24 adoption, the petitioner shall complete the adoption information sheet and
25 return it to the clerk.
26
27 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 9-9-205(a)(1)-(3), concerning jurisdiction
28 over a petition for the adoption of a minor under the Revised Uniform
29 Adoption Act, is amended to read as follows:
30 (a) Jurisdiction of adoption of minors:
31 (1) The state shall possess jurisdiction over the adoption of a
32 minor if the person seeking to adopt the child, or the child, is a resident
33 of this state.
34 (2) For purposes of this subchapter:
35 (A) A child under the age of six (6) months shall be
36 considered a resident of this state if the:
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1 (i) Child's birth mother resided in Arkansas for
2 more than four (4) months immediately preceding the birth of the child;
3 (ii) Child was born in this state or in any border
4 city that adjoins the Arkansas state line or is separated only by a navigable
5 river from an Arkansas city that adjoins the Arkansas state line; and
6 (iii) Child remains in this state until the
7 interlocutory decree has been entered, or in the case of a nonresident
8 adoptive family, upon the receipt of approval pursuant to the Interstate
9 Compact on the Placement of Children, � 9-29-201 et seq., the child and the
10 prospective adoptive parents may go back to their state of residence and
11 subsequently may return to Arkansas for a hearing on the petition for
12 adoption;
13 (B) A child over the age of six (6) months shall be
14 considered a resident of this state if the child:
15 (i) Has resided in this state for a period of six
16 (6) months;
17 (ii) Currently resides in Arkansas; and
18 (iii) Is present in this state at the time the
19 petition for adoption is filed and heard by a court having appropriate
20 jurisdiction; and
21 (C) A person seeking to adopt is a resident of this state
22 if the person:
23 (i) Occupies a dwelling within the state;
24 (ii) Has a present intent to remain within the state
25 for a period of time; and
26 (iii) Manifests the genuineness of that intent by
27 establishing an ongoing physical presence within the state together with
28 indications that the person's presence within the state is something other
29 than merely transitory in nature.
30 (3)(A) If the juvenile is the subject matter of an open case
31 filed under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, � 9-27-301 et seq., the
32 adoption petition shall be filed in that case.
33 (B) The circuit court shall retain jurisdiction to issue
34 orders of adoption, interlocutory or final, when a juvenile is placed outside
35 the State of Arkansas.
36
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1 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 9-9-212(a)(2), concerning the entry of an
2 order for an adoption after the period for withdrawal of consent has elapsed
3 under the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, is amended to read as follows:
4 (2) No orders of adoption, interlocutory or final, may be
5 entered prior to the period for withdrawal.
6
7 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 9-9-213, as amended by 2025 Acts No. 139,
8 concerning the required residence of a minor who is the subject of a petition
9 for adoption under the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, is amended to read as
10 follows:
11 9-9-213. Required residence of minor.
12 (a)(1) In an adoption where the child is not in the custody of the
13 Department of Human Services, a final decree of adoption shall not be issued
14 and an interlocutory decree of adoption does not become final until the minor
15 to be adopted has lived in the home for at least six (6) months after
16 placement by an agency or for at least six (6) months after:
17 (A) Placement by a child placement agency licensed under
18 the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act, � 9-28-401 et seq.; or
19 (B) The petition for adoption is filed.
20 (2) This subsection does not apply if the minor to be adopted
21 is:
22 (A) The stepchild of the petitioner; or
23 (B) Less than six (6) months of age at the time the
24 petition was filed.
25 (b) In an adoption where the child is in the custody of the
26 department, a final decree of adoption shall not be issued and an
27 interlocutory decree of adoption does not become final until the minor to be
28 adopted has lived in the home for at least six (6) months unless:
29 (1) The minor to be adopted must reside outside of the home to
30 receive medically necessary health care;
31 (2) The minor to be adopted is less than six (6) months of age;
32 or
33 (3) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services
34 waives the residency requirement for a minor to be adopted when the minor is
35 sixteen (16) years of age or older and is participating in a life skills,
36 technical, or vocational program.
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1
2 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 9-9-214(c), concerning the issuance of a
3 decree for adoption after the period of time for the withdrawal of consent
4 and relinquishment have passed and the adoption is in the best interest of
5 the individual to be adopted under the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, is
6 amended to read as follows:
7 (c) If at the conclusion of the hearing the court determines that the
8 required consents have been obtained or excused and the required period for
9 the withdrawal of consent and withdrawal of relinquishment have has passed
10 and that the adoption is in the best interest of the individual to be
11 adopted, it may (1) issue a final decree of adoption; or (2) issue an
12 interlocutory decree of adoption which by its own terms automatically becomes
13 a final decree of adoption on a day therein specified, which day shall not be
14 less than six (6) months nor more than one (1) year from the date of issuance
15 of the decree, unless sooner vacated by the court for good cause shown.
16
17 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code � 9-9-215 is amended to read as follows:
18 9-9-215. Effect of decree of adoption.
19 (a) A final decree of adoption and an interlocutory decree of adoption
20 which has become final, whether issued by a court of this state or of any
21 other place, have has the following effect as to matters within the
22 jurisdiction or before a court of this state:
23 (1) Except with respect to a spouse of the petitioner and
24 relatives of the spouse, to relieve the biological parents of the adopted
25 individual of all parental rights and responsibilities, and to terminate all
26 legal relationships between the adopted individual and his or her biological
27 relatives, including his or her biological parents, so that the adopted
28 individual thereafter is a stranger to his or her former relatives for all
29 purposes. This includes inheritance and the interpretation or construction of
30 documents, statutes, and instruments, whether executed before or after the
31 adoption is decreed, which do not expressly include the individual by name or
32 by some designation not based on a parent and child or blood relationship.
33 However, in cases where a biological or adoptive parent dies before a
34 petition for adoption has been filed by a step-parent of the minor to be
35 adopted, the court may grant visitation rights to the parents of the deceased
36 biological or adoptive parent of the child if such parents of the deceased
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1 biological or adoptive parent had a close relationship with the child prior
2 to the filing of a petition for step-parent adoption, and if such visitation
3 rights are in the best interests of the child. The foregoing provision shall
4 not apply to the parents of a deceased putative father who has not legally
5 established his paternity prior to the filing of a petition for adoption by a
6 step-parent. For the purposes of this section, "step-parent" means an
7 individual who is the spouse or surviving spouse of the biological or
8 adoptive parent of a child but who is not a biological or adoptive parent of
9 the child.
10 (2) To create the relationship of parent and child between
11 petitioner and the adopted individual, as if the adopted individual were a
12 legitimate blood descendant of the petitioner, for all purposes including
13 inheritance and applicability of statutes, documents, and instruments,
14 whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, which do not
15 expressly exclude an adopted individual from their operation or effect.
16 (b) An interlocutory decree of adoption, while it is in force, has the
17 same legal effect as a final decree of adoption. If an interlocutory decree
18 of adoption is vacated, it shall be as though void from its issuance, and the
19 rights, liabilities, and status of all affected persons which have not become
20 vested shall be governed accordingly.
21 (c) Sibling visitation shall not terminate if the adopted child was in
22 the custody of the Department of Human Services and had a sibling who was not
23 adopted by the same family and before adoption the circuit court in the
24 juvenile dependency-neglect or families-in-need-of-services case has
25 determined that it is in the best interests of the siblings to visit and has
26 ordered visitation between the siblings to occur after the adoption.
27
28 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code � 9-9-219 is amended to read as follows:
29 9-9-219. Application for new birth record.
30 Upon entry of a final decree of adoption or an interlocutory decree of
31 adoption that does not require a subsequent hearing, the clerk of the court
32 shall prepare an application for a birth record in the new name of the
33 adopted individual and forward the application to the appropriate vital
34 statistics office of the place, if known, where the adopted individual was
35 born and forward a copy of the decree to the Division of Vital Records for
36 statistical purposes. The division may issue a birth certificate for any
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1 child born in a place whose law does not provide for the issuance of a
2 substituted certificate.
3
4 SECTION 8. Arkansas Code � 9-9-220(a), concerning the termination of
5 parental rights by virtue of the entry of a decree of adoption under the
6 Revised Uniform Adoption Act, is amended to read as follows:
7 (a) With the exception of the duty to pay child support, the rights of
8 a parent with reference to a child, including parental right to control the
9 child or to withhold consent to an adoption, may be relinquished and the
10 relationship of parent and child terminated in or prior to an adoption
11 proceeding as provided in this section. The duty of a parent to pay child
12 support shall continue until an interlocutory a decree of adoption is
13 entered.
14
15 SECTION 9. Arkansas Code � 9-14-237(a)(1), concerning the duty of a
16 payor parent to pay child support automatically terminating by operation of
17 law, is amended to read as follows:
18 (a)(1) Unless a court order for child support specifically extends
19 child support after these circumstances, a payor parent's duty to pay child
20 support for a child shall automatically terminate by operation of law:
21 (A) When the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age
22 unless the child is still attending high school;
23 (B) If the child is still attending high school, upon the
24 child's high school graduation or the end of the school year after the child
25 reaches nineteen (19) years of age, whichever is earlier;
26 (C) When the child:
27 (i) Is emancipated by a court of competent
28 jurisdiction;
29 (ii) Marries; or
30 (iii) Dies;
31 (D) Upon the marriage of the parents of the child to each
32 other; or
33 (E) Upon the entry of a final decree of adoption or an
34 interlocutory decree of adoption that has become final under the Revised
35 Uniform Adoption Act, � 9-9-201 et seq., and, thereby relieves relieving the
36 payor parent of all parental rights and responsibilities.
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1
2 SECTION 10. Arkansas Code � 9-27-306(a)(4), concerning jurisdiction to
3 issue an order of adoption for a juvenile placed outside of the State of
4 Arkansas under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 (4) The court shall retain jurisdiction to issue orders of
7 adoption, interlocutory or final, if a juvenile is placed outside the State
8 of Arkansas.
9
10 SECTION 11. Arkansas Code � 23-98-106(a)(8)(A), concerning medical
11 insurance coverage for adopted minors, is amended to read as follows:
12 (8)(A) Every policy issued pursuant to this chapter which covers
13 the insured and members of the insured's family shall include coverage for
14 newborn infant children of the insured from the moment of birth, and for
15 adopted minors from the date of the interlocutory decree of adoption.
16
17 SECTION 12. DO NOT CODIFY. Effect on interlocutory decrees of
18 adoption issued before act.
19 (a) This act shall only affect a decree entered after the effective
20 date of this act.
21 (b) An interlocutory decree entered by a court of competent
22 jurisdiction before the effective date of this act shall remain valid
23 according to the terms set forth by the court.
24
25 /s/C. Tucker
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7 04-07-2025 12:24:56 LJH275Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.