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The second phase of the legal work in a surrogacy journey is the parentage action. The process varies by state and can vary by county, which necessitates a deep understanding of the applicable counties and familiarity with the presiding judges.
In Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky, we begin the work to petition the court for a court order that will establish the parent-child relationship between the intended parents and child and to declare the surrogate (and her spouse or partner, if applicable) not the parents of the child at 20 weeks gestation. With our counsel, our intended parent clients are able to obtain pre-birth orders and without a hearing. The result is intended parents walk into the hospital for delivery with the birth order, and the hospital looks to them as the parents. As the parents, they make all medical decisions for the child; the child is discharged to them, their names go on the birth certificate, and the child goes on their insurance.
In Illinois, where there is statutory law laying out the process for surrogacy, the process is administrative instead of judicial. At 14 weeks gestation, we begin the work to collect and file the required certified statements with the hospital and Illinois Department of Health. As a result, the hospital knows that the intended parents, and not the surrogate (and her spouse or partner, if applicable), are the parents of the child. For international, same sex, and other intended parents needing it, we can additionally obtain court orders confirming the parent-child relationship.