Annotate Legal Arkansas Paternity Forms For Free

Arkansas fathers, married or unmarried, have the same parental rights as Arkansas mothers. Arkansas law presumes that both parents, regardless of gender, should share joint custody of their child. This means that mothers are not given a preference to fathers under the law.

When a child is born to unmarried parents, there is no automatic legal relationship between the father and the child. The biological father's name will not be placed on the birth certificate without filling out an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP).

It costs approximately $300 to $400 and must be done by an accredited, court-approved lab rather than a private home test. DNA testing results are rendered in under two weeks in most cases. Paternity testing can be done voluntarily between the parties or by court order.

Determining Paternity without a DNA Test? Date of Conception. There are ways to estimate date of conception, which can be found all over the web. ... Eye-Color Test. An eye-color paternity test shows how eye color and inherited-trait theory can be used to help estimate paternity. ... Blood-Type Test.

What is Act 604? Act 604 ? also known as the new joint custody law ? was enacted in the State of Arkansas in July of 2021. Under the new law, joint custody is the default arrangement for all new child custody orders.

If You Were Never Married When a child is born to an unmarried woman, the mother of the child has legal custody of that child automatically. That means if the father desires visitation or custody with the child, he must petition for paternity, custody, or visitation before he has the rights of visitation or custody.