How Do I Adopt My Baby from the Surrogate?

Let our Surrogacy Attorney Explain

Many state and county surrogacy laws are governed by adoption and parenting laws. When you use a surrogate, if you do not go through the process of “adopting” the baby, the surrogate’s name will appear on the birth certificate. A surrogacy lawyer, such as the lawyer at Steven H. Snyder & Associates takes you through the process of obtaining a parental judgment to have your name and your partner’s name (if applicable) on the birth certificate.

Getting Your Name Directly on Your Baby’s Birth Certificate

The process to get your name directly on your baby’s birth certificate if you use a surrogate, receive a donor egg or donor sperm is handled through the court. The process takes approximately a month, depending on the schedule availability of the attorneys and the judges involved in the process.

• If the process involves an international client, the requirements of the embassy are taken into consideration
• In most cases, the parties do not need to appear in court; the attorneys will appear
• The process is similar to adoption, but it does not require a home study and background check and is completed in a fraction of the time that a full adoption is completed

When you or the surrogate (depending on the method you are using) is in the second trimester, a surrogacy attorney will file pleadings in the Court. A hearing is scheduled. If there are no extraordinary circumstances, a judgment is entered. The judgment states that the potential parents’ names are to be on the birth certificate.

Choosing Not to Undergo the Parental Establishment Process

If you choose not to undergo the parental establishment process, the surrogate’s name (and her husband, if applicable) will be on the birth certificate. This means that the surrogate and her husband are the presumed parents of the child, and your rights to the child are not established.

Contact an egg donation lawyer and surrogacy lawyer at Steven H. Snyder & Associates today for help with your parental judgment legal needs.