Stepparent adoption
The most common adoption we handle. A stepparent who has been doing the job for years becomes the child's legal parent.
Adoption and paternity
You already act as this child's parent. Let us make it official.
Stepparent, relative and private adoptions, and paternity actions. Our job is to keep the legalities from being the hard part.
Free consultation · No obligation · Central Arkansas
Why this matters
Until it is legal, it is not protected
You have raised this child. You do the school runs and sit up when they are sick. Then a form asks for the parent's signature, or a hospital asks who you are, and you find out that what everyone in the house takes for granted has no standing anywhere else.
Adoption closes that gap permanently. It puts inheritance, medical decisions, school authority and the legal relationship itself beyond argument, including in the situations nobody wants to think about.
Paternity cases do the same work from the other direction. It is the foundation that custody, visitation and support all rest on. Without legal paternity, the father's rights are not enforceable.
How we help
What we handle
Relative and private adoption
Grandparents, aunts and uncles who have taken a child in, and private placements where the families have found each other.
Paternity actions
Establishing legal fatherhood, which is what makes custody, visitation and support enforceable for either parent.
Why us
The obstacle is almost always consent
Difficulties in adoption are usually regarding consent, a biological parent who cannot be located, or notice that was not given properly, and every one of those is easier to deal with before a petition is filed than after.
Forty years of Arkansas family law means we know which of those problems you actually have, and roughly what it takes to resolve it.
- Stepparent and relative adoptions
- Private placements
- Paternity actions for either parent
- Consent, notice and termination issues
Common questions
What families ask us
How long does a stepparent adoption take?
A stepparent adoption in which the other biological parent consents is one of the more straightforward matters in family law, and it is usually finalized within 60 to 90 days. Where consent is refused or a parent cannot be located, the timeline can be 6 months to a year.
What if the other biological parent will not consent?
A parent's consent is the pivot on which most adoption cases turn. There are circumstances in which a court can proceed without it, and whether your case is one of them depends on specific facts about that parent's relationship with the child. That is the first thing we assess.
Why would I need to establish paternity?
Paternity is the legal foundation for custody, visitation and child support. Without it a father who was not married to the mother has no enforceable rights to time with his child, and a mother has no enforceable claim to support. It matters to both sides.
Do we need to go to court?
There is always a hearing in an adoption case.
Do you handle agency adoptions?
We handle stepparent, relative and private adoptions, and paternity actions. Bring us the details of your situation at the consultation and we will tell you plainly whether it is something we can take on.
Let us handle the legal side
Call us for a free consultation. We will explain what your situation needs and how long it is likely to take.
Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM