Surrogacy Solicitors

Surrogacy is a more mainstream pathway to parenthood than ever before, thanks to considerable media attention and hundreds of positive court decisions. It can be an excellent option to build your family, whatever your situation. However, the law surrounding surrogacy in the UK is outdated and complex, often making otherwise straightforward arrangements unnecessarily complicated.

We believe that, having gone through this process to achieve your family, you should not have to battle with the legal system to get the parental status you deserve. We offer a range of services tailored to provide the best advice and help for you.

Our surrogacy legal services

We can provide specialist advice at any stage of your arrangement (from planning to post-birth):

• for intended parents and surrogates*.
• Help with applying for a parental order following UK or international surrogacy.
• Assistance in applying for British nationality and/or a UK passport.
• Drafting specialist Wills – for intended parents and surrogates*.

*please note that due to our strict professional regulations, we cannot advise intended parents and surrogates within the same arrangement, since this represents a potential conflict of interests.

From the early planning stages to helping you make your adoption application, Ellis Jones is on-hand to help. Please contact Nicola Scott to discuss.

In the UK

English law automatically treats whoever gives birth to a child as the mother (and, if she is married, her spouse as the second legal parent) irrespective of biological parentage. This means that parents through surrogacy are denied full legal rights and status in respect of their child: necessitating a post-birth court application to reassign parenthood (the parental order).

We can help and advise you on the parental order criteria and process as well as all other legal aspects of your surrogacy arrangement (including the pre-birth steps you can take to bridge the gaps left by the law) to protect your family unit. Our aim is to make the legal side of things as straightforward as possible once your baby arrives.

Overseas

Hundreds of UK parents pursue a surrogacy arrangement overseas each year, and this number is ever-growing. The practical side of setting things up can be a challenge, even before the legal side is taken into consideration. As there is no global tie-up of surrogacy laws, each destination has its own system of rules and you will need to comply with the law where your arrangement takes place as well as in the UK (and your country of residence, if this is different). UK law often directly conflicts with that of the country where your child is born and it is important to understand how this works and what you will need to do to achieve full parental status and recognition as a family at home.

We can help to simplify this complex international jigsaw by advising you step by step on the process for travelling home after the birth and acquiring full parenthood for your child (via the parental order) following an international surrogacy arrangement.