# Parental Order Application proceedure



## Jacquelyn (Nov 22, 2011)

Help
What do we do?


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## SamanthaB (Oct 23, 2011)

There is a lady on here called nat gamble,  she will be able to help! xx


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## pharmchick (Jun 7, 2010)

It would be helpful if people could share their experiences about obtaining parental orders. A lawyer will not give you advice for free so it would be helpful for those who might want to consider doing it without legal help to get advice from those with first hand experience.


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## apricot (Apr 21, 2008)

Hi there - its actually pretty simple if a bit time consuming. You need to apply (ie all the forms in to the court) before the baby is 6 months old and not before it is 6 weeks old. 

We rang the court and asked for the family/adoption specialist as they hadn't done surrogacy before (and it is the same court process as for adoption). They then sent us the forms for us and the surrogate to fill in - we had to lodge marriage and birth certificates with them too, and included the surrogacy contract. Actually ours sent out forms that were 3 years out of date thats how little they knew! It only came to light when we lodged them so we had to do it all again! If the surrogate is married you will need to include him on the form too I think (ours wasn't married). We were doing it across border from Scotland to England so it took ages as they argued over which council should pay for it (baby was born in England but lives in Scotland). In the end our council in Scotland paid for it.

We found the court very slow but very nice and helpful - the court reporter was lovely as he also does adoptions and was very sensitive and chuffed to be doing something new! He didnt look into the payments at all other than to chat through the contract. 

It took ages for us because of the Scotland/England thing but normally it is done within 6 months. We finally got ours approved last week - just 5 minutes in the judges chambers (no court room) and a big champagne lunch afterwards!!! Best of luck with it all and PM me if I can be of any more help.

Axxxx


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## NatGamble (Mar 1, 2007)

Hi Jacquelyn

Here's what you do:

The first step is to fill in a send Form C51 to your local Family Proceedings Court (that's a magistrates court which hears straightforward family applications). You need to enclose your child's birth certificate, your marriage certificate (if you are married), three copies of the form and a cheque made payable to HMCTS for £200. On the form, you and your husband/partner are the 'applicants', and your surrogate and her husband/civil partner are the 'birth parents'. You don't need to wait until your child is 6 weeks old to submit the form, but you do have to apply within 6 months of the birth. Don't miss this deadline as it can't be extended.

The court will then stamp the form and should return some copies to you, together with a C52 form. You give this to your surrogate (and her husband/ civil partner if she has one) and ask them to sign it and send it back to the court.

That's your bit and you are then into the court process itself. The timing and sequence of events with this does vary from case to case, but the court will always appoint a parental order reporter (a CAFCASS officer, a bit like a social worker who works for the court). You will get a home visit from your parental order reporter, and he or she will also go and see your surrogate separately at home. They will do some background checks on you, and may also ask you to file a written statement about the background or about your expenses paid. They will then file a report, running through whether you meet the criteria and whether they recommend the order as being in your child's best interests. You will then go to court (or back to court if you have already had a first hearing). The hearing should be pretty informal, assuming you meet all the criteria, and the magistrates/ judge may ask a few questions before making the order. Typically the final hearing is a bit of a celebration (not at all something to worry about) and the court may invite you to bring cameras, other family members etc if you want to.

The court then sends the parental order to the register office, which reissues the birth certificate, and this should come to you automatically in the post a few weeks later.

I hope that helps. You can print the forms you need from our website (here) and there is also more information about parental orders and the criteria etc which you may find useful. We have helped loads of parents navigate the application successfully without legal representation, and as long as you meet all the criteria it should be pretty straightforward.

Best of luck!

Natalie


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## Bria (Nov 3, 2005)

If you are in Scotland then there is no CAFCASS up here so dependant on yours courts experience you may end up being told you have to pay for all the lawyer fees (to cover the reporting officer and curat at litem (usually same lawyer))!  I know a couple in Scotland who ended up paying £3000!  Also in Scotland you don't get a replacement birth certificate but an "Extract of the Parental Order" (or wording to that effect).


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## apricot (Apr 21, 2008)

We are in Scotland and there is no way they should have ended up paying that - they really should challenge it as there are loads of cases that would act as a precedent. Please PM me if they need a bit of help.
xxxxx


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