In most Irish surrogacy families one parent can establish legal status and the other cannot. For that second parent, guardianship is generally the most Irish law currently offers — and it is genuinely worth having. It is also, in three specific ways, considerably less than being a parent.
What It Gives You
A legal relationship with your child and a voice in the major decisions of their upbringing: education, religion, medical treatment, and consent to a passport application — the one families notice first, usually at the worst moment. It is obtained either by agreement using the statutory procedure where the conditions are met, or by application to court, and the route depends on the facts. The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 broadened who may become a guardian beyond parents: it includes 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, including periods of cohabitation and day-to-day care — which is why so many second parents are told there is a waiting period before anything can be done, and why the precise route and its timing should be established properly rather than assumed. Where the surrogate is concerned, she is the legal mother and her position is relevant; a court considering an application is concerned with the child’s best interests and will want the position of the legal parents properly before it. That is one more reason to maintain contact with her, and one more reason for families whose arrangements were years ago to check they can still reach her.
Three Ways It Is Not Parentage
It ends. Guardianship expires 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 what they are. It does not carry succession. A guardian is not a parent for inheritance purposes, so your child does not stand in the same position in your estate as they would in a parent’s, and the tax treatment can differ substantially — a point covered properly on the inheritance page, and the single strongest reason not to treat guardianship as the end of the matter. It does not make the child yours in law. No birth certificate changes, nothing on any register alters, and the answer to “is this your child?” remains legally complicated. Families describe guardianship as a permit to parent rather than recognition that they are a parent, and that description is accurate. So the sensible approach is both: secure guardianship now, because it is available now and materially improves daily life — and preserve the evidence and the relationships that a parental order application would need if Part 12 is commenced.
Is the Guardianship Route Open to You Yet?
It depends on the relationship between the adults, periods of cohabitation and day-to-day care, and the facts of your family. Worth establishing precisely rather than assuming - and worth doing as soon as it is available.
Call 01 5827148