English law requires a birth to be registered
within 6 weeks. If the Surrogate Mother is married, she and her
husband will be named on the original birth certificate as the parents.
If the Surrogate’s Husband is willing to write a letter stating
he didn’t give permission for the arrangement, the Intended Father
can be named as the father. If she is unmarried and the Intended
Father is present at the registering of the birth he can be named
as the father. In both scenarios the baby can be given the Intended
Parents' surname.
An Intended father that is present at the registration of the birth
and named on the birth certificate automatically acquires Parental
Responsibility.
Applying for the Parental Order
If you do not qualify for a Parental Order then please read
this Adoption
Applying for a Parental Order is a very simple
process. Although you do not need a solicitor, some people like
to have the peace of mind of employing one. See our list of Solicitors
below.
To be granted a Parental Order the Intended Parents must be:
Over 18
Married to one another (The new civil ceremony for Gay couples is
not classified in law as a marriage so cannot be accepted - although
this is under review by the Department of Health)
Domiciled
in the UK
At least one of the applicants must be genetically related to the
child
The Intended Parents can apply for a Parental Order once the child
has reached 6 weeks of age, but must apply before the child reaches
6 months.
Under English law, the Intended Parent must start the application
process by completing the form "Application
for Parental Order (C51)". This is handed in to the local Family
Proceedings Court. The Court will then provide the Intended Parents
with Form C52 (Acknowledgement
Form). The application process then requires the parents to
fill in form C52 and serve it on the Surrogate Mother and her partner
(if she has one), together with a copy of their application for
a Parental Order (C51). The Surrogate must then complete and return
the form to the court.
Under Scottish law the Parental Order form the Intended
Parents need is under "Child and Maintenance Rule 1997 Form 22".
This is handed in to the Sheriff Court. For more information on this please use this
Link
The child must already be living with the couple and consent obtained
from the Surrogate and the child’s Legal Father. The Surrogacy Arrangement
must have been implemented. No money or other benefit (other than
for expenses reasonably incurred) must be paid to the Surrogate
unless authorised by the Court.
Once the forms have been handed in to the Court, a date will be
given for the Intended Parents to appear. This will be to assign
a Parental Order Reporter (previously known as 'Guardian Ad Litem')
to the case and to ask him/her how long they will require to prepare
the report. The Court will be then adjourned till this date.
The Parental Order Reporter’s job, when appointed by the Court,
will be to enquire as to whether the requirements set out in Section
30 of the HFEA Act 1990 have been complied with and whether there
is any reason why a Parental Order should not be made in light of
the welfare of the child principle set out in the Adoption Act,
as modified by the Parental Orders Regulations.
The Parental Order Reporter will visit the Intended Parents and
Surrogate Mother in their respective homes. He/she will ask many
questions regarding the Surrogacy Arrangement to make sure everyone
entered this of their own free will. She will make sure that nothing
untoward happened before, during or after the Arrangement e.g. any
large amounts of money changing hands.
On some occasions the Court may ask for a DNA test to prove the
parentage of the child. Since one of the requirements to obtain
a Parental Order is for at least one of the Intended Parents to
be biologically related to the child, they are within their rights
to request this. Although it doesn't happen very often, you need
to be aware that you may be asked for one.
The Parental Order Reporter will then submit his/her report to
the Court and it is up to them to decide whether it is granted or
not. Their function is to determine what is in the best interest
of the child.
Under English Law, once the Parental Order has been approved, the
Intended Parents will receive a new birth certificate stating that
the Intended Parents are the legal mother and father of the child.
In Scotland, the Intended Parents will receive an extract of the
Parental Order which does look very similar to a birth certificate
but has the words 'Extract of the Parental Order' in the top left
hand corner.
To see a copy of the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 click
here
To see a copy of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 click
here
To see a copy of the recent 'Surrogacy - Review for Health Ministers
of Current Arrangements for Payments and Regulation. click
here
(At the moment this is only a white paper and is not expected to become
law within the next couple of years)
If you do not qualify for a Parental Order then please read
this Adoption
