Parental Orders & Surrogacy Arrangements - Develop Your Knowledge

Introduction

The number of parents having children by using a surrogate has quadrupled in the UK in the past 10 years. However, the laws governing surrogacy arrangements remain complex and piecemeal. For foreign surrogacy arrangements, there may be added difficulties around immigration, changing surrogacy laws, and evidence-gathering.

This in-person course will provide a comprehensive and in-depth examination of surrogacy law, legal parenthood, and the process by which parental orders are obtained, as well as the future of surrogacy law in the UK.

In particular, it will give you the knowledge needed to successfully advise and work with both surrogates and intending parents who are embarking on a surrogacy journey.

What You Will Learn

This in-person course will cover the following:

• The different types of surrogacy
• Why people might have a child via surrogacy
• Why a person might act as a surrogate and the risk of retention of the child
• The academic research on outcomes for surrogate children
• The lexicon used by the court when discussing surrogacy
• The legality of surrogacy in the UK under the Surrogacy Act 1985, including how the provisions affect legal practitioners
• The process of finding a surrogate, both domestically and abroad
• The dangers of unregulated surrogacy forums
• The legality of surrogacy in different jurisdictions
• The benefits and detriments of domestic versus international surrogacy arrangements
• Common immigration issues in respect of surrogate children
• Surrogacy contracts and the enforceability (or not) of the same
• The definitions of legal parenthood
• The s.54 criteria
• The court process
• The contents of the witness statement in support of a parental order
• The role of the parental order reporter
• Re-registering the child’s birth
• The Law Commission’s proposed changes to the law
• Tips and best practice
• And much, much more