What is a Pre-Birth Order?

A “Pre-Birth Order” is a term used for the Judgement of Parentage establishing the parent-child relationship between the Intended Parents and the child(ren) that their Gestational Surrogate is carrying.

The attorneys involved in the surrogacy arrangement collect essential information from their respective clients for the pleadings and related documents. Typically, the Intended Parents’ attorney will accumulate the information provided by the parties and will prepare these Pre-Birth Order documents, which will then be filed in the appropriate court months before the child(ren)’s due date; usually between weeks 20-25 of the pregnancy. The Intended Parents attorney will then provide a certified copy of the Pre-Birth Order to the hospital where the child(ren) is anticipated to be born. The hospital in turn will begin the birth certificate process to place the Intended Parents’ names as the “Mother/Parent” and “Father/Parent” respectively on the child(ren)’s birth certificate.

Besides being necessary for the legal recognition of the Intended Parents as the parents of the child(ren), obtaining the Pre-Birth Order prior to the birth of the child(ren) is critical to allow the Intended Parents full access to the child(ren) upon the birth, and allow the Intended Parents the ability to make medical decisions for the child(ren). Failure to obtain a Pre-Birth Order in a timely manner has the potential to pose multiple issues for the Intended Parents and the Gestational Surrogate, the most significant of which may be the difficulty in establishing the Intended Parents’ parental rights to the child(ren) prior to delivery.

Do you have questions about Pre-birth Orders?

Contact Masler Surrogacy Law today if you have questions about Pre-Birth Orders or establishing your parental rights in a Surrogacy Arrangement in the State of California.

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