For a second parent with no legal parentage, guardianship is generally the most Irish law currently offers. It genuinely improves daily life. It is also, in three specific ways, considerably less than being a parent — and knowing which three prevents a false sense of security.
What It Gives
A legal relationship with your child, and a say in the major decisions of their upbringing: education, religion, medical treatment, and consent to a passport application — the one families notice first and usually at an awkward moment. That is not a token. It changes the answer at a hospital, at a school, and at a passport office, and it gives a parent standing they otherwise entirely lack. It is obtained either by agreement using the statutory procedure where the conditions are met, or by application to court. The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 broadened who may become a guardian beyond parents — including provision for a person who has shared responsibility for a child’s day-to-day care with a parent and cohabited with that parent for a specified period, and for a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of a parent. Those routes carry qualifying conditions, which is why second parents are so often told there is a waiting period. Which route applies, and from when, is fact-specific — and worth establishing precisely, because families frequently wait longer than they need to simply because nobody told them the route existed.
Three Ways It Is Not Parentage
It expires. Guardianship ends when your child turns eighteen. Parentage does not expire — the relationship of parent and child is permanent in law. A guardian is, in a real sense, granted authority for the duration of a childhood rather than recognised as being what they are. It does not carry succession. A guardian is not a parent for inheritance purposes, so a child does not stand in the same position in a guardian’s estate as in a parent’s, and the tax treatment can differ substantially — which is why a will is not optional for a family in this position, and why treating guardianship as the end of the matter is the most common expensive mistake. It does not make the child yours in law. No birth certificate changes, no register alters, and the answer to a simple question about your own child remains legally complicated. Families describe guardianship as a permit to parent rather than recognition that they are one, and the description is accurate. So the sensible approach is both: take guardianship now because it is available now, and preserve what a future parental order application would need.
Do not wait for the Act before applying. Guardianship is available under existing law, improves your position materially from the day it is granted, and is entirely compatible with seeking a parental order later. There is no advantage whatever in delaying it.
Not sure whether the route is open to you yet? 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & TEP
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981) and a TEP of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. The firm advises on the legal position of families formed through surrogacy and assisted reproduction — parentage, guardianship, birth registration, travel documentation, and the succession and estate planning consequences that the current gap in the law creates. This is a legal practice: it is not an agency, does not match or introduce surrogates, and takes no part in any commercial arrangement. Consultations by telephone, video or in person. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law relating to surrogacy and assisted human reproduction. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every family’s position turns on its own facts, and advice on yours requires a consultation.
The law is changing and this page has a date. The position described across this site is stated as at 31 July 2026. The principal surrogacy provisions of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 were not commenced at that date. Commencement orders can be made at short notice and will alter this position materially. Confirm the current position before acting.
This is a legal practice, not an agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a surrogacy agency, does not match, introduce or recruit surrogates or intending parents, does not advertise for or on behalf of any surrogate, does not recommend or receive any payment from any clinic, agency or intermediary, and takes no part in arranging or facilitating any payment beyond the provision of legal services. Nothing on this site is an offer or invitation to enter any commercial surrogacy arrangement.
Foreign law and medical matters. Where an arrangement involves another jurisdiction, the law of that jurisdiction applies to what happens there and independent legal advice must be taken locally — nothing here states or implies that any arrangement is lawful or unlawful in any other country. Nothing on this site is medical advice, and questions about treatment, suitability or risk are for your treating clinicians.
Fees. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Where parentage affects succession, gift or inheritance treatment, those questions belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance, and should be addressed before any step is taken.