St. Louis Family Law Attorney Jonathan Marks Appears on Fox 2 to Discuss Adoption
Marks talked with Margie Ellisor on STLMoms to discuss the legal procedure for adopting a child.
- St. Louis, MO-IL (1888PressRelease) November 28, 2013 - Since November is National Adoption Month, St. Louis family law attorney Jonathan Marks of The Marks Law Firm, L.L.C. appeared on Fox 2's STLMoms in order to discuss how to legally adopt a child.
There are many different varieties of adoption procedures, so Marks talked with Fox 2's Margie Ellisor to explain these different options. As with any legal procedure, adoption can be complicated and time consuming, and will in most cases require the services of an experienced family law attorney.
One common type of adoption is a stepparent adoption. "Normally in that situation you have a family where there's been a death of the original parent or you have a parent who's been uninvolved with a child's life for a period of time," Marks said. "They've stepped into the role, they've been married for six months or greater, and they want to step up and be the legal parent of that child."
When a stepparent becomes the legal parent of a child, their name is on the child's birth certificate just as if they were the natural parent. This means that in the case of a divorce, the now-legal parent would carry the same responsibilities as any parent. "If you happen to go through a divorce situation, you're going to be looking at a child support and child custody situation no different than if you had been the natural parent," Marks said.
Unlike most stepparent adoptions, private adoptions are often more complicated. "In those situations, a family is typically working with an agency for a domestic or some foreign adoption," Marks said. "They're trying to figure out specifically the child they want to adopt and go through the procedures necessary for them to have a family."
Social services agency adoptions are also very common, and usually involve older children who are in the custody of the state. "Your typical situation is where a child has been in foster care for a period of time," Marks said. "They may be placed with a foster parent who may want to proceed with the adoption and make that child a part of their family."
Finally, Marks urged patience is a key part of any successful adoption. "Just like when you're trying to have a baby, you have to have a lot of patience working with the agency or within the state," he said. "Know that the ultimate goal is to be a family, and that's a wonderful thing."
Marks's experience with the intricate nature of family law has made him a resource to the community concerning sensitive issues like adoption. If you are thinking about adopting a child and you need more information, please call 314-993-6300.
About Jonathan Marks
Jonathan Marks is an experienced family law and divorce attorney in St. Louis. He received his Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1993 and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1997. Marks is admitted to practice in the State of Missouri and the State of Illinois as well as in all United States District Courts in both states and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Marks was recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of Missouri's Up & Coming Lawyers in 2008, as a Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2008-2011, and as a Super Lawyer in 2013 by Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers, a publication of Thomson Reuters. He is currently authoring "Family Law and Criminal Law: A Practitioner's Handbook" for the American Bar Association.
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