Why is paternity important at all in surrogacy cases?
Some parents think that as long as they both have parental responsibility legal paternity is not important. However, it means that the child is legally not the child of his or her parent(s). This could become significant particularly later in the child’s life, when issues arise surrounding inheritance, possible inheritance tax abroad, next-of-kin status and so on. There is no scope of remedying this once the child has reached 18 under English law and the child would then remain in a legal limbo for ever. Until a parental order or an adoption order is made, both intended parents should review their wills and the letter of wishes and similar instructions to their pension fund or life insurance policy. The wills must be drafted carefully to ensure that the child is looked after and, moreover, that in the unfortunate event of the parent and child dying at the same time or in succession, the estate does not then pass to the surrogate.
