Surrogacy and Fertility
Surrogacy and Fertility
Dutton Gregory Solicitors prides itself on adapting to the needs of the modern family unit. One example is our specialist Surrogacy Team that has the skills necessary to represent couples who have used a surrogate to start their family.
Treating every individual case with sensitivity and respect, we can successfully resolve issues surrounding legal parenthood both before and after baby is born.
If you would like to have a child, and cannot traditionally conceive, for whatever reason, surrogacy may be an option that you’d like to explore.
Our expert lawyers have supported many clients through the surrogacy processes. We take a compassionate approach and are dedicated to ensuring that things run as smoothly as possible as you embark on this exciting journey.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is an arrangement where a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple, known as the intended parent(s).
People may pursue surrogacy treatment for various reasons, including fertility difficulties, risks associated with pregnancy, the impossibility or medical conditions that prevent them from carrying a child themselves.
We recognise the profoundly personal nature of this decision and offer compassionate guidance.
Our Surrogacy Expertise
Our accredited and experienced solicitors have worked on a diverse range of surrogacy cases. We can provide in-depth assistance with:
- Guidance concerning surrogacy law
- Support to obtain a Parental Order once the child is born
- Alternatively, obtaining an Adoption Order (if necessary)
- International surrogacy
Surrogacy Agreements
It is important to note that surrogacy agreements are not legally enforceable in the UK, but can be recognised as recording the intention of those involved. However there are countries, such as the USA or Canada where parties can enter into a legally binding surrogacy agreement.
Lawyers in the UK cannot get involved in negotiating or drafting a surrogacy agreement, but our team work with a number of surrogacy organisations and are able to signpost where appropriate.
Once a child is born our surrogacy lawyers are able to assist in applying for an obtaining a Parental Order, recognising the legal status of the surrogate parents. However, advice should be obtained before undertaking the surrogacy process as there are a number of factors to consider and steps to take before making a Parental Order application.
Get in touch with our Surrogacy Solicitors in Hampshire and Dorset
Our expert Surrogacy Solicitors can advise clients nationwide from our offices across Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey
We have offices in Bournemouth, Chandler’s Ford, Southampton, Winchester, Woking, Liverpool and London.
How our Surrogacy Law Solicitors can help you
Choosing to have a child through a surrogacy arrangement is an exciting decision. Regardless, surrogacy laws are complex and can be confusing to navigate. It’s recommended that you gain legal support early on to ensure that you understand your obligations and avoid potential issues.
Our specialist surrogacy lawyers can provide advice throughout the entire process, including:
- Support throughout the surrogacy application stages, including legal recommendations tailored to your circumstances.
- Advice on eligibility requirements.
- Assistance to draft the statements that are required throughout the application process.
- Help to resolve any disagreements or disputes that occur.
- Recommendations on your surrogacy agreement.
For both surrogates and intended parents, we can provide the necessary legal advice to ensure that our clients appreciate their position, responsibilities, and surrogacy options.
Rest assured, our team will always ensure that you and your family feel comfortable as we move through the legal processes
A Surrogacy Agreement is a type of legal document that determines how surrogacy will work between the surrogate and the intended parents. Though these agreements are not legally binding, they are recommended to act as a framework for the surrogacy, confirming that all parties understand their responsibilities.
Surrogacy Agreements cover various matters, including:
- Details of the conception arrangements.
- Clarifying reasonable expenses, as in, what the intended parents will cover for the surrogate, medical costs, and so on.
- Pregnancy related commitments, including antenatal appointments and scans.
- Any potential birth plan.
- Providing details of all parties involved, and detailing the roles that they will play.
- Post birth arrangements, to ensure that all parties know what’s expected.
If you have any further questions about surrogacy arrangements, a member of our friendly team would be happy to answer these.
We can advise couples, from start to finish, on how to make an application for a Parental Order. This involves one of our lawyers preparing and filing the application and support statement, representing the couple at court hearings and providing support, advice and updates throughout the process.
Sometimes, our help is only needed for part of the process. Whether its court document preparation, meetings for legal advice, or assistance with document preparation, we can be involved as much or as little as an individual or couple needs.
Fees for a full service are likely to be in the region of £5,000 – £7,500 + VAT and disbursements, including a court fee of £263.depending upon whether this is a domestic or international surrogacy, as well as the country where the surrogacy arrangement takes place.
More detailed estimations can be provided upon enquiry.
Once the child has been born, it is necessary to transfer legal parenthood from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s).
However, not all intended parents will be eligible to obtain a Parental Order. In this case, the intended parents will need to apply for an Adoption Order to gain legal parenthood. If you are in this situation, our experts can assist you throughout the necessary processes, and answer any queries that you may have.
Our solicitors have worked on a large number of surrogacy cases and always approach every case with sensitivity. You will find our solicitors to be friendly and approachable, always tailoring our service to your needs.
Surrogacy Laws vary depending on the country concerned, so it is vital that intended parents have expert legal advice.
Our international Surrogacy Solicitors at Dutton Gregory can help you to ensure that you are legally recognised as your child’s parents, both in the UK and abroad, to prevent any complications in the surrogacy process.
We can provide advice on the laws related to the surrogate’s home country, and how these will interact with the relevant surrogacy laws in the UK. At every stage our dedicated Surrogacy Solicitors will ensure that you understand your responsibilities, and any potential risks.
Our team are experienced in obtaining Parental Orders and have successfully acted for surrogate parents in obtaining Parental Orders, both for domestic and international surrogacy, and have appeared before the High Court in these applications.
They will be able to provide advice and guidance on your surrogacy and parental journey in a clear and personal manner.
It is common practice for fertility clinics to require prospective parents to obtain independent legal advice before commencing treatment.
Dutton Gregory is happy to offer an hour long meeting to discuss the legal issues involved at the start of the surrogacy process, or any stage thereafter.
Letters can be provided to confirm you have taken legal advice with us.
Whether you require assistance with surrogacy advice, parental order applications, general legal advice, or a combination of these areas, our experts at Dutton Gregory will ensure to provide an accurate estimate of your legal costs early on, to ensure transparency.
Frequently Asked Questions about Surrogacy
Surrogacy is a legal agreement between intended parent(s) and a surrogate mother. The surrogate becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child, and once the child is born, legal parenthood is transferred from her to the intended parent(s) who will bring up the child.
Surrogacy is legal in the UK. Regardless, the laws associated with surrogacy tend to be complex, so it highly recommended that you carefully set out the conditions for a surrogacy arrangement to avoid any future issues. However, it is also important to note that these agreements are not strictly legally binding, and so gaining legal protection can be challenging.
When a child is born via surrogacy, the surrogate mother (as well as her partner if she has one) are both legally considered as the child’s parents. The parent or parents who will bring up the child, referred to as the intended parents, will need to apply to the Court to gain a Parental Order, affording them legal parenthood status.
Though surrogacy is legal in the UK, a surrogate cannot be paid, besides what is deemed as ‘reasonable expenses’. Such expenses might include medical costs, legal expenses, or travel costs as appropriate.
Surrogacy is not currently available on the NHS. Those who would like to have a child through surrogacy will typically need to fund this themselves.
Though it is technically illegal to pay a surrogate, it is expected that the intended parents will pay the surrogate’s ‘reasonable expenses’. These costs usually include medical or fertility treatments, travel, legal expenses.
If a surrogate mother has given birth to a child for intended parent(s), and she decides that she wants to keep the child, instead of transferring legal parenthood to the intended parents(s), the legal circumstances are rather complex.
Though Surrogacy Agreements are advisable to make the necessary surrogacy arrangements, these are not enforceable by law. According to the law in the UK, the surrogate who gave birth to the child is by default the child’s legal parent. If the mother decides to keep the child, that is her legal right.
If you are facing a complication or a dispute as a result of a surrogacy arrangement, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our experts at Dutton Gregory.
Paying the costs associated with surrogacy can be expensive, ranging from between £20,000 to £50,000+, depending on the circumstances and country where surrogacy takes place.
Receiving legal support is an extra expense, and is recommended to ensure that the surrogacy arrangement goes as smoothly as possible. If you would like to discuss your legal expenses, please get in touch with our solicitors at Dutton Gregory.
There are two available types of surrogacy, these being traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. The first type means that the surrogate’s own eggs are used for conception, and that the surrogate is inseminated with a donor sperm, or the sperm of the intended father, using artificial insemination.
Gestational surrogacy means that a donor(s) or intended parent(s) provide the sperm and the eggs, and that these are fertilised using IVF. With this method, though the surrogate mother carries and gives birth to the child, she is not genetically related to the child.
Get in touch with our surrogacy solicitors in Hampshire and Dorset
Our expert Surrogacy Solicitors can advise clients nationwide from our offices across Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey.
We have offices in Bournemouth, Chandler’s Ford, Southampton, Winchester, Woking, Liverpool and London.
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