X. FAMILY LAW
A. ADOPTION: WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT. A consent to adopt may be withdrawn within ten (10) calendar days after it is signed or the child is born, whichever is later, by filing an affidavit with the clerk of the probate court in the county designated by the consent as the county in which the guardianship petition will be filed, if there is a guardianship, or where the petition for adoption will be filed, if there is no guardianship. The ten-day period for filing a withdrawal of consent shall not apply to agencies as defined by A.C.A. § 9-9-202(5). A.C.A. § 9-9-209 (Repl. 2002).
B. CHILD SUPPORT.
1. Arrearages in support. Any action for recovery of child support arrearages may be brought at any time up to and including five (5) years beyond the date the child for whose benefit the initial support order was entered reaches the age of eighteen (18) years. This section shall apply to all actions pending as of March 29, 1991, and filed thereafter and shall retroactively apply to all child support orders now existing. No statute of limitation shall apply to an action brought for the collection of a child support obligation or arrearage against any party who leaves or remains outside the State of Arkansas with the purpose to avoid the payment of child support. A.C.A. § 9-14-236(c), (e) (Repl. 2002).
2. Choice of law. In a proceeding for arrearages, the statute of limitation under the laws of this state or of the issuing state, whichever is longer, applies. A.C.A. § 9-17-604(b) (Repl. 2002).
3. Hearing to contest registration of order. A hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of an order registered in another state must be requested within twenty (20) day after the date of mailing or personal service of the notice. A.C.A. § 9-17-605(b)(2) (Repl. 2002).
4. Petition for support. Any petition for child support may be brought at any time up to and including five (5) years from the date the child reaches the age of eighteen (18) years of age. This section shall apply to all actions pending as of March 29, 1991, and filed thereafter and shall retroactively apply to all child support orders now existing. A.C.A. § 9-14-105(e) (Repl. 2002).
5. Suspension of driver, occupation, profession or business license for failure to pay child support. The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration shall notify the noncustodial parent that a request will be made to the department to suspend the license or permanent license plate sixty (60) days after the notification, unless a hearing with the office is requested in writing within thirty (30) days to determine whether one of the conditions of suspension does not exist. A.C.A. § 9-14-239(b)(2)(A) (Repl. 2002). Any noncustodial parent whose license
or permanent license plate has been suspended may appeal to the chancery court, or the juvenile division thereof, as appropriate, of the county in which the child support order was entered or transferred, within thirty (30) days after the effective date of the suspension, by filing a petition with a copy of the notice of the suspension attached, or with a copy of the final administrative hearing decision of the office, with the clerk of the chancery court and causing a summons to be served on the administrator of the Office of Child Support Enforcement. A.C.A. § 9-14-239(h)(1)(A) (Repl. 2002).
C. DOMICILE. Not less than ninety (90) days nor more than two (2) years after a declaration of intention has been made, the person shall make and file, in duplicate, a petition in writing. A.C.A. § 9-3-111(a). In no case shall final action be had upon a petition until at least thirty (30) days have elapsed after its filing and the posting of the notice of the petition as provided
for in A.C.A. § 9-3-112. A.C.A. § 9-3-111(e) (Repl. 2002).
D. PATERNITY ACTIONS.
1. Generally. Actions brought in this state to establish paternity may be brought at any time. Any action brought prior to August 1, 1985, but dismissed because of a statute of limitations in effect prior to that date, may be brought for any person for whom paternity has not yet been established. A.C.A. § 9-10-102(b) (Repl. 2002).
2. Challenging adjudication of paternity. A man who is adjudicated to be the father of a child without the benefit of scientific testing may challenge the acknowledgment of paternity during the period of time that he is required to pay child support provided that other certain limited statutory conditions are met. A.C.A. § 9-10-115 (Repl. 2002).
3. Rescinding voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Any signatory to a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity may rescind the acknowledgment by completing a form provided for that purpose and filing the form with the Division of Vital Records of the Department of Health prior to the first of either the date on which a proceeding relating to the child occurs and the person executing the voluntary acknowledgment is a party or the lapse of sixty (60) days of executing the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Beyond the first-occurring of either event, a man who is deemed to be the father of a child pursuant to an acknowledgment of paternity without the benefit of scientific testing may challenge the acknowledgment of paternity during the period of time that he is required to pay child support provided that other certain limited statutory conditions are met. A.C.A. § 9-10-115 (Repl. 2002).