Why Is It Important That Your Will Refers To Your Surrogacy Arrangement?

Making a Will is important for anyone to consider, especially when children are involved. For those who are about to enter into surrogacy arrangements, it is an important and advisable document to prepare. But why?

For the surrogate

You may not intend for the child carried by you through the surrogacy to inherit any of your estate. But did you know that the surrogate legally becomes the mother of the child born through surrogacy, until the Parental Order is signed? This means that any reference to the child in a surrogate’s Will would include the child born through surrogacy until the Parental Order has been signed. Therefore, a specific clause should be included in your Will to rebut this.

You would also need to make sure that a guardianship clause is included specific to the surrogacy to appoint the Intended Parents as that child’s guardians should anything happen prior to the Parental Order being signed.

For the intended parents

Further to the above, the intended parents would want to make sure that their Wills clearly define who is intended by reference to the child in their Will also. For example, if the surrogate decides to retain the child, then they may want to make sure that the child isn’t included within their Will and so a specific clause is included to define this.

As intended parents, you would also want to make sure that if something was to happen to you before the child is 18 you appoint guardians for your child or children.

Note that it is customary that the intended parents cover the cost of the surrogate’s Will.

For further information on Wills for surrogate parents, read this article.