Also known as: surrogate · surrogates · surrogate mother · gestational surrogacy · traditional surrogacy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A contractual arrangement whereby a woman agrees to become pregnant through assisted reproduction, carry the child to birth, and surrender the child to one or more intended parents who will raise the child as their own. The arrangement may involve a genetic surrogate who uses her own gametes or a gestational surrogate who uses gametes from the intended parents or donors. Parentage of the resulting child is determined under applicable state law governing assisted reproduction rather than under the surrogacy agreement itself.
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Sebastian Santos and his former fiancée arranged for Charlie to serve as a gestational surrogate before their breakup. Jared was born to Charlie under the partially executed agreement. After Sebastian's death the probate court applies the Uniform Probate Code to determine whether Jared qualifies as Sebastian's descendant for intestate distribution.
After the gestational surrogate gives birth, one intended parent moves in with the child and provides daily care while the other intended parent has no contact. The court applies Restatement § 14.9 to decide which intended parent has established a parent-child relationship for class-gift purposes.
Serena Soto gave birth under a genetic surrogacy agreement for intended parents who later died. The child seeks to inherit from the intended father's estate. The court examines whether the surrogacy arrangement establishes the required parent-child relationship for intestate succession.
Seth Shapiro establishes a trust naming his future child as beneficiary. After his death the gestational surrogate gives birth to the child. The court determines whether the child conceived through the surrogacy arrangement qualifies as a beneficiary under the trust terms.
Two intended parents enter a gestational surrogacy agreement. After birth only one functions as a parent within a reasonable time. The court applies the Restatement rule to treat the child as the child of the functioning parent only for class-gift purposes.
Samuel Soto serves as gestational surrogate for a child whose intended parents have died. The estate seeks to distribute assets without notifying the surrogate. The court evaluates whether due process requires notice to the surrogate before final distribution.
Parentage is determined under applicable state law governing assisted reproduction. The Uniform Probate Code directs courts to the provisions of the Uniform Parentage Act rather than enforcing the surrogacy agreement itself. This approach focuses on the intended parents' functional relationship with the child after birth.
Supporting sources
…wholly foreign one. In this respect, it is very different from exceptions to the Confrontation Clause that make no claim to be a surrogate means of assessing reliability. For example, the rule of forfeiture by wrongdoing (which we accept) extinguishes confrontation claims on essentially equitable grounds; it does not purport…
…held that incompetent individuals retain a right to refuse treatment. It also held that such a right could be exercised by a surrogate
…out resort to the court that entered the injunction, for injunctions are ordinarily enforced by the enjoining court, not by a surrogate tribunal. See supra , at 236. In sum, Michigan has no authority to shield a witness from another jurisdiction's subpoena power in a case involving persons and causes outside Michigan's…
…law. ( Matter of Thorne , 162 N. Y. 238.) The court below exercised its appellate jurisdiction by reversing the decree of the surrogate
…lurking in the buried past of a parent or an ancestor of a class of beneficiaries? Finality in decree is essential in the Surrogates’ Courts since title to real property passes under such decree. Our procedural statutes and the Due Process Clause mandate notice and opportunity to be heard to all necessary parties. Given…
No. Merely entering into a surrogacy agreement is insufficient. An intended parent must also function as a parent of the child within a reasonable time after birth to establish the parent-child relationship for class-gift and inheritance purposes.
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The surrogate must obtain independent legal representation of her own choice throughout the surrogacy arrangement regarding the terms of the agreement and the potential legal consequences.
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The child receives the same treatment as any other child once parentage is established under the applicable assisted-reproduction statutes. The marital status of the intended parents and the circumstances of the surrogacy do not affect the child's right to inherit by representation from a deceased intended parent.
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