15 September 2024
Louisa Ghevaert featured in an article in the Mail On Sunday on 15 September 2024 by Sanchez Manning about the numbers of single men and men over 50 and 60 applying to have children through surrogacy. Almost 300 men aged over 50 in England applied to become the legal father of a surrogate born child over the past five years (43 of whom are aged over 60). According to new figures released following a Freedom of Information Act application from The Mail on Sunday, 95 single men applied to become a parent through surrogacy in England over the last five years, reflecting a growing trend in men, especially older men, having babies alone with the help of surrogates.
Commenting on the new figures from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), fertility and family law expert Louisa Ghevaert said: ‘The numbers of single men and men over 50 applying for parental orders reflects wider trends in solo and later-life parenting that are set to continue.’ She added that the numbers also reflected ‘the fact there’s no legal upper age limit for a parental order’.
That said, the numbers of parental order applications reported by CAFCASS are still relatively small, coming to 2,162 over the last five years (an average of 432 a year); although every surrogate born child, intended parent and family matters. Parental order applications by single men comprise 4.4 percent of this 5-year total. This ties in with the fact that single men (and women) have only legally been able to apply for a parental order since 2019, so it’s still early days.
Parental order applications by men over 50 represent 13.5 percent of the overall 5-year total, although it’s not clear from these figures how many of these older men have younger partners or spouses. This also reflects the fact that there’s no legal upper age limit for a parental order, albeit the court will review each application carefully to ensure it’s in the child’s best interests. Whilst there’s a balance to be struck from an age perspective, later-life parents can be very committed and grateful for the opportunity to have a child. They can also be engaged and ‘hands on’ parents with a lot of life experience to offer a child.
Regardless of personal circumstances, it is a big decision to become a parent through surrogacy. It raises complex legal issues, making it important for all parties to obtain specialist legal advice at the outset and ensure that the legal criteria for a parental order can be met.
Click here to read the full article in the Mail On Sunday.
Click here to learn more about surrogacy law in England and Wales.
Click here to learn more about international surrogacy law.
Need A Surrogacy Lawyer?
We provide a range of specialist legal strategies and solutions to assist with the management of surrogacy law, legal parentage, parental responsibility, birth certificates and the upbringing of surrogate born children. If you are considering, or are part way through, a surrogacy arrangement in the UK or internationally and you would like to discuss your situation or you require specialist fertility, surrogacy and family law assistance please contact Louisa Ghevaert by email louisa@louisaghevaertassociates.co.uk or by telephone+44 (0)20 7965 8399.
Images: Louisa Ghevaert, CEO & Founder Louisa Ghevaert Associates
