Surrogacy and parentage is national law rather than local practice, so a Munster family needs an adviser who works in the area rather than one nearby. Consultations are conducted by telephone and video as a matter of course, with in-person meetings available at the Kilkenny and Dublin offices.
Distance Is Not the Constraint
Almost nothing in this work requires physical presence. Establishing who is a legal parent under Irish law, advising on which guardianship route applies and from when, working through documentation for a child born abroad, and drafting wills that address the parentage gap are all done as effectively over video — and frequently more conveniently, because the families who most need this advice are managing newborns, young children, or a stay abroad waiting on travel documents. In practice, the effect of assuming otherwise is that families in Kerry, Clare or west Cork postpone taking advice because it looks like a day’s undertaking, and postponement in this area is expensive: every year without protection is a year in which a school enrolment, a hospital admission or a death could occur with one parent holding no legal standing. The firm’s Kilkenny office at 2 Rose Inn Street is a manageable drive from much of east Munster where a family does want to meet.
What to Assess in Any Adviser
The same four things, in Munster or anywhere. Can they state the commencement position of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 precisely, and with a date — because an adviser who says the Act "now regulates surrogacy in Ireland" without the qualification that its principal surrogacy provisions are uncommenced has told you something important. Do they know what can be secured while it remains uncommenced, which is a longer list than most families are given. Do they raise wills and succession without being prompted, since that is the only consequence of the parentage gap that cannot be repaired after the event and the one most often omitted. And are they free of any relationship with agencies, clinics or intermediaries that might colour what they recommend — because a solicitor with commercial interests entangled in the arrangement cannot give candid advice about whether it is a good idea.
Two Free Tools Before You Call
The Surrogacy Route Check is for people considering surrogacy: what each route means under Irish law as it stands. The Legal Parentage Checker is for families whose child is already born: who is a legal parent today, and what to put in place meanwhile. Both run entirely on your device — nothing is stored or sent.
Where Does Your Family Stand?
Whether the child is born, whether there is a genetic link, which country, and what documents exist. Those four answers shape everything - and most families have never had their position confirmed.
Call 01 5827148