§ 581-203 — Proceeding for judgment of parentage of a child conceived pursuant to a surrogacy agreement

New York § 581-203

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law FCT: Family Court Act
• Part 2: Judgment of Parentage
• Art. 5-C: Judgments of Parentage of Children Conceived Through Assisted Reproduction or Pursuant to Surrogacy Agreements

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§ 581-203. Proceeding for judgment of parentage of a child conceived\npursuant to a surrogacy agreement. (a) The proceeding may be commenced\n(1) in any county where an intended parent resided any time after the\nsurrogacy agreement was executed; or (2) in the county where the child\nwas born or resides or in the county where the birth is intended to\noccur; or (3) in the county where the surrogate resided any time after\nthe surrogacy agreement was executed.\n (b) The proceeding may be commenced at any time after pregnancy is\nachieved and the person acting as surrogate, the spouse of the person\nacting as surrogate, if any, donors for whom there is not proof of\ndonative intent as set forth in subdivision (d) of section 581-202 of\nthis part, and all intended parents are necessary parties. The service\nprovisions of subdivision (e) of section 581-202 of this part shall be\napplicable to donors entitled to notice pursuant to this provision.\n (c) The petition for a judgment of parentage must be verified and\ninclude the following:\n (1) a statement that the person acting as surrogate or at least one\nintended parent has been a resident of the state for at least six months\nat the time the surrogacy agreement was executed; and\n (2) a certification from the attorney representing the intended parent\nor parents and the attorney representing the person acting as surrogate\nand the spouse of the person acting as surrogate, if applicable, that\neach of the requirements of part four of this article have been met; and\n (3) a statement from all parties to the surrogacy agreement that they\nknowingly and voluntarily entered into the surrogacy agreement and that\nthe parties are jointly requesting the judgment of parentage; and\n (4) a copy of the executed surrogacy agreement.\n (d) Where the court finds the statements required by subdivision (c)\nof this section to be true, the court shall issue a judgment of\nparentage, without additional proceedings or documentation:\n (1) declaring, that upon the birth of the child born during the term\nof the surrogacy agreement, the intended parent or parents are the only\nlegal parent or parents of the child;\n (2) declaring, that upon the birth of the child born during the term\nof the surrogacy agreement, the person acting as surrogate, and the\nspouse of the person acting as surrogate, if applicable, is not a legal\nparent of the child;\n (3) declaring that upon the birth of the child born during the term of\nthe surrogacy agreement, any donor, if applicable, is not a parent of\nthe child;\n (4) ordering the person acting as surrogate and the spouse of the\nperson acting as surrogate, if any, to transfer the child to the\nintended parent or parents if this has not already occurred;\n (5) ordering the intended parent or parents to assume responsibility\nfor the maintenance and support of the child immediately upon the birth\nof the child; and\n (6) ordering that:\n * (i) Pursuant to section two hundred fifty-four of the judiciary law,\nthe clerk of the court shall transmit to the state commissioner of\nhealth, or for a person born in New York city, to the commissioner of\nhealth of the city of New York, on a form prescribed by the\ncommissioner, a written notification of such entry together with such\nother facts as may assist in identifying the birth record of the person\nwhose parentage was in issue and, if the person whose parentage has been\ndetermined is under eighteen years of age, the clerk shall also transmit\nto the registry operated by the department of social services pursuant\nto section three hundred seventy-two-c of the social services law a\nnotification of the determination; and\n * NB Effective until December 21, 2027\n * (i) The hospital birth registrar shall report the parentage of the\nchild on the record of live birth in conformity with the judgment of\nparentage, if the judgment of parentage is issued before the birth of\nthe child; and\n * NB Effective December 21, 2027\n (ii) If a change to the child's birth certificate is necessitated by\nthe judgment of parentage, then pursuant to section two hundred\nfifty-four of the judiciary law, the clerk of the court shall transmit\nto the state commissioner of health, or for a person born in New York\ncity, to the commissioner of health of the city of New York, on a form\nprescribed by the commissioner, a written notification of such entry\ntogether with such other facts as may assist in identifying the birth\nrecord of the person whose parentage was in issue and, if the person\nwhose parentage has been determined is under eighteen years of age, the\nclerk shall also transmit to the registry operated by the department of\nsocial services pursuant to section three hundred seventy-two-c of the\nsocial services law a notification of the determination; and\n (iii) Pursuant to section forty-one hundred thirty-eight of the public\nhealth law and NYC Public Health Code section 207.05 that upon receipt\nof a judgement of parentage the local registrar where a child is born\nwill report the parentage of the child to the appropriate department of\nhealth in conformity with the court order. If an original birth\ncertificate has already been issued, the appropriate department of\nhealth will amend the birth certificate in an expedited manner and seal\nthe previously issued birth certificate except that it may be rendered\naccessible to the child at eighteen years of age or the legal parent or\nparents; and\n * (7) if the judgment of parentage is issued prior to the birth of the\nchild, ordering the petitioner or petitioners, within fourteen days of\nsuch birth, to provide the court with notification thereof, together\nwith such other facts as may assist in identifying the birth record of\nthe child whose parentage was in issue. Such notification shall be in\nwriting on a form to be prescribed by the chief administrator of the\ncourts. The court shall thereafter issue an amended judgment of\nparentage that includes the child's name as it appears on the child's\nbirth certificate and the child's date of birth.\n * NB Effective December 21, 2027\n (e) In the event the certification required by paragraph two of\nsubdivision (c) of this section cannot be made because of a technical or\nnon-material deviation from the requirements of this article; the court\nmay nevertheless enforce the agreement and issue a judgment of parentage\nif the court determines the agreement is in substantial compliance with\nthe requirements of this article. In the event that any other\nrequirements of subdivision (c) of this section are not met, the court\nshall determine parentage according to part four of this article.\n