Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 28 - WILLS, ESTATES, AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIPS (§§ 28-1-101 — 28) › Subtitle 2 - DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION (§§ 28-8-101 — 28-15-115) › Chapter 9 - INTESTATE SUCCESSION (§§ 28-9-201 — 28-9-221) › Subchapter 2 - ARKANSAS INHERITANCE CODE OF 1969 (§§ 28-9-201 — 28-9-221) › Section 28-9-209 - Legitimacy of child - Effect

(a)
(1)
If the parents of a child have lived together as man and wife and, before the birth of their child, have participated in a marriage ceremony in apparent compliance with the law of the state where the marriage ceremony was performed, though the attempted marriage is void, their child is deemed to be the legitimate child of both parents for all purposes of intestate succession.
(2)
A child born or conceived during a marriage is presumed to be the legitimate child of both spouses for the same purposes.
(b)
If a man has a child or children by a woman, and afterward intermarries with her and recognizes the child or children to be his, the child or children shall be deemed and considered legitimate.
(c)
Any child conceived following artificial insemination of a married woman with the consent of her husband shall be treated as their child for all purposes of intestate succession. Consent of the husband is presumed unless the contrary is shown by clear and convincing evidence.
(d)
An illegitimate child or his or her descendants may inherit real or personal property in the same manner as a legitimate child from the child's mother or her blood kindred. The child may inherit real or personal property from his or her father or from his or her father's blood kindred, provided that at least one (1) of the following conditions is satisfied and an action is commenced or claim asserted against the estate of the father in a court of competent jurisdiction within one hundred eighty (180) days of the death of the father:
(1)
A court of competent jurisdiction has established the paternity of the child or has determined the legitimacy of the child pursuant to subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section;
(2)
The man has made a written acknowledgment that he is the father of the child;
(3)
The man's name appears with his written consent on the birth certificate as the father of the child;
(4)
The mother and father intermarry prior to the birth of the child;
(5)
The mother and putative father attempted to marry each other prior to the birth of the child by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid; or
(6)
The putative father is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order.
(e)
Property of an illegitimate person passes in accordance with the usual rules of intestate succession to his or her mother and his or her kindred of her blood and to his or her father and his or her kindred of his or her father's blood, provided that paternity has been established in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(f)
Nothing contained in this section shall extend the time within which a right of inheritance or a right to a succession may be asserted beyond the time provided by law relating to distribution and closing of decedents' estates or to the determination of heirship, or otherwise.
Acts 1969, No. 303, § 11; 1979, No. 1015, §§ 1-3; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 61-141, 61-141.1.