Full question:
Can an adopted child’s biological relatives have visitation rights?
- Category: Adoption
- Date:
- State: Arkansas
Answer:
The final decree of adoption legally ends all relationships between the adopted child and their biological relatives, including natural parents. When a biological parent consents to the adoption, their relatives lose any legal rights to visitation, as these rights are dependent on the parent's rights, which are terminated upon adoption. This principle is supported by Arkansas law (Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-215(a)(1) (Supp. 1995)). Public policy promotes a complete severance of ties between the adopted child and their biological family to serve the child's best interests, as established in the case Suster v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Services, 314 Ark. 92, 858 S.W.2d 122 (1993).
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