Who Goes on the Child's Birth Certificate for International Two-Dad Families When a Child Is Born Through Surrogacy in the United States?
| Author | Sara R. Cohen, Mathilde Foucault |
| Pages | 44-45 |
44 FAMILY ADVOCATE www.shopaba.org
When international intended
fathers are embarki ng on a U.S.
surrogacy journ ey to build their
family, their American law yers
need to consider how p arentage
and citizenship will play out for
the intended parent s (IPs) back home. One frequent qu es-
tion that arises is whe ther both intended fathers’ name s
should be on the bir th certicate, or should only the ge netic
father be listed, o r the genetic father and the surrogate. T he
answer varies countr y by country; however, an increasing
number of countries are r ecognizing birth certicates tha t
name both fathers . This is an important step for th e recogni-
tion of LGBT rights and to be ap plauded. There are still some
countries where in cer tain situations, the original bir th
certicate sho uld not name both intended fathers , including
the Netherlands and Germany.
We consulted with prac titioners around the globe to
provide a brief over view of what birth certicate s should look
like. It is important to n ote, though, that international recog ni-
tion of birth certi cates is dynamic, and it is the refore critical to
consult with a local law yer early and often in the proce ss.
UK: Colin Rogerson indic ates that it is “. . . always
Who Goes on the Child’s Birth Certicate for
International Two-Dad Families When a Child Is
Born rough Surrogacy in the United States?
advantageous to have a bir th certicate with both IP s named
on it.” Obtaining a parenta l order is highly recommended in
order to make both dads le gal parents under UK law.
However, it “takes between 6 to 12 months to complet e,” so
in the meantime it is wor thwhile to have a dual birth
certicate. Plea se note that “under [the UK] current law, it
doesn’t matter if t here are court proceedings in th e jurisdic-
tion of birth, since [th e UK] doesn’t recognize the effec t of
those orders.”
Australia: Stephan Page also encourag es the Australian dads
to both be named on the bi rth certicate to make the granting
of Australian citizenship and th e child’s passport easier.
Canada: Similarly, Sara Cohen conrm s that it is prefer-
able for two- dad Canadian families seeking surrog acy
services in the Un ited States to obtain a birth certi cate and
order naming both fath ers as the legal parents of the child.
France: Likewise, under French law, both dad s should be
named on the birth c erticate. A court order is req uired (not
just a birth cer ticate). Fabien Joly stresses that in the
absence of a cour t order from the jurisdiction of bir th, the
child’s parentage will no t be established under French law
and will be questiona ble for 10 years.
Spain: Ana Miramontes advis es that both Spanish dads
should be named on th e birth certicate and a court o rder
from the jurisdictio n of birth. This will also facilitate the
delivery of Spanish documentation.
Italy: Ida Parisi advise s that both dads should be named
on the country of bir th’s birth certicate. A court o rder
conferring parentag e is also recommended (and not only a
birth certic ate). Parental rights will be recognized to the
biological father “witho ut, most of the time, the need to
submit an application to th e Court.” However, the nonbio-
logical father will have to ado pt his partner’s biological child.
New Zealand: Both dads must als o both be registered on
the birth certi cate. According to lawyer Margaret C asey,
“New Zealand won’t recognize a fore ign Court Order
conferring parentag e, nor will it give automatic recognition t o
the parentage that is re corded on the foreign birth cer ticate
art: law & practice
By Sara R. Cohen and Mathilde Foucault
Published in Family Advocate, Volume 43, Number 2, Fall 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof
may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
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