A couple in the UK has been awarded a parental order at the end of a complicated international surrogacy case.
This case involved a same-sex couple referred to legally as B and A. B is the biological mother of the child, but the biological father is a sperm donor. A surrogate mother based in Minnesota in the US gave birth to the child in May last year, who was subsequently brought back to this country by B and A. This led to problems under UK family law – specifically the Adoption and Children Act 2002 section 83.
This piece of legislation stops UK citizens from adopting children who are born abroad unless they have passed local authority safeguarding checks. B and A did not go through that vetting procedure before bringing the child to this country; instead, a court hearing in Minnesota granted a stepparent adoption order after what was described as an ‘administrative process’.
It is a complicated case and shows why the expertise of family law solicitors in North Wales can be vital in adoption matters. The ruling was made by The Honourable Mr Justice Cusworth. He stated that B and A had clearly failed to comply with the existing regulations but admitted that compliance would have been impossible.
The judge went on to say that the Adoption and Children Act 2002 leaves room for section 83 to be disregarded in certain cases. This led him to rule in favour of the couple.
If you want to speak to professionals in family law in North Wales, contact Bennett Smith Solicitors today.
