Surrogacy lawyers

Yes, it has always been legal to enter into a surrogacy arrangement in the UK. However, there are various rules and regulations which need to be carefully considered.

Surrogacy contracts are unenforceable, which means trust between everyone involved must be established.

It is also against the law for a third party (such as a solicitor) to take payment for negotiating a surrogacy contract.

A surrogacy agreement involves a person (the surrogate) agreeing to carry and give birth for an individual or couple (the intended parents). The intention is that the individual or couple will become the baby’s parents following the birth.

This agreement is not enforceable in the UK and the intended parent(s) will need to apply to the court to become the legal parents of the child.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to pay a surrogate mother for her services in the UK.

However, during the parental order application, the court will need to authorise any payments made over and above the expenses they have reasonably incurred. This could include travel expenses, maternity clothes and loss of earnings.

There is no definition of reasonable expenses, which means the court must decide what is reasonable in each case.

The court often takes quite a relaxed approach and there is a history of the High Court approving payments in international cases that equate to more than expenses.

Apart from the costs of reimbursing your surrogate for various expenses, you’ll also need to pay for your clinic treatment. The price of this will vary depending on your chosen treatment.

If you plan to use the surrogate’s own eggs, you’ll require intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment. If you’re using your own eggs and sperm, or donated eggs, you’ll have in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which is usually more expensive. If the sperm you use isn’t of the highest quality, you may need to pay for an intracytoplasmic sperm injection at an additional cost.

The birth certificate must reflect the legal position at birth.

This means the surrogate will always be named on the birth certificate in the UK. Whether one of the intended parents can be named depends on whether the surrogate is married/in a civil partnership and the circumstances surrounding insemination.

A parental order makes the intended parent(s) of the child the legal parents and permanently removes the legal parenthood of the surrogate and her spouse.

Once the order has been made, the birth will be reregistered and the original birth certificate will be sealed and only accessible to the child once they are over 18 years old.

The court process can take between four to 12 months and usually involves one or two court hearings.

The surrogate remains the legal parent until a parental order is made.

The surrogate’s consent is also required before a parental order can be made.

Many intended parents worry about what would happen if the surrogate wanted to keep the baby but cases of this happening are incredibly rare. The surrogate can also be concerned that they may be left holding the baby if the intended parents change their minds or their circumstances change.

The most popular destinations for surrogacy arrangements abroad are the US, Canada, Georgia, Greece and, previously, Ukraine. It is important to do extensive research before embarking upon a surrogacy arrangement abroad. It may be that your marital status and gender dictate the options available to you.

You must comply with the law in both the UK and your destination country.

No. In the UK, the surrogate will always be the legal mother.

Whether one of the intended parents can be recognised as the legal parent at birth depends on the surrogate’s marital status and the circumstances surrounding the insemination.