For any intended parents beginning the journey to creating a family via surrogacy, one of the first steps should be to consult with an experienced surrogacy attorney. As a founding…
Human birth rates have been dropping for decades, over approximately the same period that assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become increasingly efficient, reliable and accessible as a family-building solution. According…
It’s finally out, in paper and in e-version! After three years of writing, rewriting, editing, proofreading and more of the same, as I was talking to potential intended parents in…
A number of high-profile cases of malfeasance or unethical activity related to international surrogacy have recently made headlines worldwide, fueling negative misconceptions.
ABC report calls out Planet Hospital, a U.S.-based surrogacy brokerage offering surrogacy services in Cancun, Mexico, for allegedly shady practices.
Surrogacy and parental establishment laws vary dramatically from state to state and from country to country.
It’s exciting to get to know people from all over the world and a privilege to play a small part in this tremendously important time in their lives.
The Kansas sperm donor who was sued for child support by the state Department for Children and Families (DCF) has had his day in court.
I am pleased to report that the following article I wrote on California surrogacy law was published recently in the Family Law Review. To read full article click here: (2013) 3…
It is essential that intended parents understand what steps they need to take in order to ensure their babies are legal citizens of the country in which they will reside and that the parents are legally recognized as such.
Surrogacy Issues for Non-U.S. Intended Parents. Three 5 minute online interviews with Fertility Law Expert, Richard Vaughn.
First and foremost, it is very important that prospective U.K. intended parents seek the advice of an experienced assisted reproduction lawyer in the surrogate’s birth state, and retain legal counsel in the U.K. before moving forward with a surrogacy arrangement in the United States
If you have not requested an expedited birth certificate, it may take several weeks before your child’s birth certificate is available. Generally a written or online request is required for you to receive your child’s birth certificate, along with confirmation that you are an “authorized” person. You can order the certificate via an online service such as vitalchek.com or directly from the County Clerk or Recorder in the county where your baby was born. We strongly suggest you purchase multiple copies of your child’s birth certificate—particularly if you do not reside in the US or will need to request an amended birth certificate in future. The office will charge a per-copy fee.
Once the birth certificate worksheet is completed, the hospital birth clerk will send it to the vital records office in the county in which your child was born.
In the case of an expedited birth certificate request, ask the hospital birth clerk for the address of the local vital records office, where you will pick up the birth certificate in person. Call before you go to confirm the birth certificate is ready and available for you to pick up.
If you need an expedited birth certificate, as you might if you plan to take your baby home to another country, ask the hospital birth clerk to expedite the birth certificate request at this time. In most cases, you will receive the expedited birth certificate within a few days.
Following your baby’s birth, the hospital birth clerk will complete a birth certificate and birth registration worksheet.
Some states require that the birth registration documents include some information about the surrogate for public health and statistical purposes only, but such information will appear only on the confidential portion of the birth registration; however, the official birth certificate will not contain this information.
If your baby is born in a “pre-birth state,” where pre-birth orders of parentage are permitted for babies born via surrogacy, the birth clerk will use information from the pre-birth parentage judgment we obtain on your behalf. The parentage judgment will direct the registrar to allow you to name the child, as well as list you as the parent(s).
In states where pre-birth parentage orders are not allowed, the process is essentially the same except the birth clerk will eventually use information from the post-birth order we obtain on your behalf. In some instances, the birth clerk will need to send the birth registration to vital records before the post-birth order is obtained; and in these situations, the state’s Vital Records will enter the correct birth registration to show you as the legal parent(s).
