It helps to spell out exactly what all the involved parties can expect - who will have parental rights to the child, whether the surrogate will continue to visit or be involved, and so on. Surrogacy can be a hugely positive experience for everyone involved and if you're considering it, we welcome all enquiries about how Marcia Mediation's surrogacy mediators can help to make surrogacy as stress-free and positive as possible.
What will a surrogacy mediator decide?
First of all, any decisions are made jointly – your surrogacy mediator will not decide anything you don’t agree with.
By involving a mediator from early in the process though, they can help to guide you through drawing up a surrogacy agreement that is clear about what each party will receive.
This is equally important to protect the person acting as the surrogate, and to set out what they will receive for their part in the process.
If the surrogate is a family friend and you want them to be involved in raising the baby, you may want to set out rights and limitations on their involvement, again to protect the interests and emotions of all parties.
The worst-case scenario is a dispute over who is the legal parent of the child once they are born, and your surrogacy mediator can help you to set this down in very clear terms that can be taken to court if necessary.
Why choose Marcia Mediation?
At Marcia Mediation we care strongly about helping our clients through some of the most challenging phases in their lives in a positive, emotionally supportive and low-stress way.
We have experience and expertise in the specific area of surrogacy mediation and will help you to tie up the loose ends, such as completing the adoption process after the child’s birth.
This attention to detail can help to prevent disputes before they arise, while making certain that the child’s parents are recognised in the eyes of the law.
In the past few years alone there have been many changes particularly in same-sex couples’ civil partnership and marital rights, so this is something that should not be taken for granted.
A pioneer for mediation since commencing legal practice as a family solicitor some seventeen years ago, Marcia has worked exclusively as an independent mediator since 2004, focussing initially on family mediation, and latterly on work place mediation.
Marcia’s accreditations include Family Mediation and she is a qualified child consultant practitioner. Her associations include the Professional Mediators Association and Resolution.
If you have any questions, call us on 0330 236 7450 or fill out this form
