Hiring a Child Custody Lawyer in Arkansas
How courts in Arkansas decide custody, emergency custody, parenting classes, how to check a lawyer's license, and free or low-cost family law help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Arkansas: fee rules
| If a lawyer takes your money | Arkansas has a Client Security Fund overseen by the Arkansas Supreme Court's Client Security Fund Committee, whose members are appointed by the Court; the Administrative Office of the Courts (625 Marshall Street, Little Rock; 501-682-9400) is the listed contact. |
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Arkansas rules to know first
| How custody is decided | Custody is awarded without regard to a parent's sex, based solely on the child's welfare and best interest. The court may consider the child's preference if the child is of sufficient age and mental capacity to reason, regardless of chronological age. Joint custody is favored, and in an original custody decision in a divorce or paternity case there is a rebuttable presumption that joint custody (an approximately equal division of time) is in the child's best interest. The presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, by the parents' agreement on custody, if a parent does not seek custody, or by other statutory presumptions such as domestic abuse. Read on a public code mirror (FindLaw, current as of March 28, 2024). Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101 (secondary source: public copy of the state code; check the official code) |
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| Emergency custody | Under the interstate custody law, an Arkansas court has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in Arkansas and has been abandoned, or emergency action is needed to protect the child because the child, a sibling or a parent is being mistreated or abused or threatened with it. If another state has jurisdiction, the emergency order lasts only until an order is obtained from that state's court. Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-19-204 (secondary source: public copy of the state code; check the official code) |
| Parenting classes | When divorcing parents have minor children living with one or both of them, the court may require them to complete at least two hours of classes on parenting issues faced by divorced parents, or to go to mediation on parenting, custody and visitation. Each party pays their own cost, and a party may ask to skip mediation for good cause. Read on a public code mirror (FindLaw, current as of March 28, 2024). This is at the court's discretion, not an automatic statewide requirement. Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-12-322 (secondary source: public copy of the state code; check the official code) |
| Grandparents' rights | A grandparent or great-grandparent may ask for reasonable visitation if the parents' marriage ended by death, divorce or legal separation, the child was born outside marriage (paternity must be established for paternal grandparents), the custodian is unfit, or in certain other circumstances. A custodian's decision to deny or limit visits is presumed to be in the child's best interest. To overcome this, the grandparent must show a significant and viable relationship with the child (for example, the child lived with or was regularly cared for by them for six months, or frequent contact for 12 months) and that visits are in the child's best interest, including that losing the relationship is likely to harm the child. Read on a public code mirror (FindLaw, current as of March 28, 2024). Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-103 (secondary source: public copy of the state code; check the official code) |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Arkansas Bar Association runs ArkansasFindALawyer, an online directory you can search by name, firm, city, postal code (within a set distance) or area of practice. The bar's page does not describe it as a referral service and states no consultation fee. The bar's general line is 501-375-4606. |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Arkansas Judiciary's online Attorney Search lets you look up lawyers by last name, first name, city, ZIP code or bar number; attorney rosters are also posted. The site says its information is not the official record kept by the Clerk of the Courts and directs users to the Clerk's Office at (501) 682-6849 to verify. Rosters: https://attorneyinfo.aoc.arkansas.gov/roster |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints about Arkansas lawyers are handled by the Office of Professional Conduct of the Arkansas Supreme Court (Administrative Office of the Courts), One Capitol Mall, Suite 3D-101, Little Rock, AR 72201-1049; phone 501-376-0313 or toll-free 800-506-6631. File using the office's grievance form (printable for mailing or fillable for emailing). Disciplinary decisions are posted online, and paper copies are available from the Clerk of the Courts at $0.50 per page. |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Legal Aid of Arkansas is the LSC-funded legal aid organization for Arkansas and provides free civil legal help to eligible low-income people. The Arkansas Bar Association also points people to Arkansas Access to Justice (arkansasjustice.org), Arkansas Free Legal Answers (ar.freelegalanswers.org) and Arkansas Law Help (arlawhelp.org) for free legal information and help. Bar legal assistance page: https://www.arkbar.com/?pg=LegalAssistance |
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Last verified against official sources: October 27, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.