Legal Definitions - intended parent

An intended parent refers to an individual or a couple who plans to become the legal parent(s) of a child, typically through arrangements such as surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology (ART). This designation is often used when the person or couple will not be genetically related to the child, or when one partner is not genetically related, or when they will not carry the pregnancy themselves. The crucial element is their clear, legally established intent to assume all parental rights and responsibilities for the child.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of an intended parent:

• Example 1: Gestational Surrogacy

  A married couple, unable to carry a pregnancy to term, enters into a legal agreement with a gestational surrogate. The couple provides their own genetic material (sperm and egg) which is used to create an embryo, implanted into the surrogate. From the outset, the couple is the intended parent(s) because they have legally committed to raising the child as their own, even though the surrogate is carrying the pregnancy. The legal agreement specifies that the surrogate will relinquish all parental rights upon the child's birth, and the couple will be recognized as the child's legal parents.

• Example 2: Single Parent via Sperm Donation

  A single woman decides to have a child using donor sperm through in vitro fertilization (IVF). She undergoes the medical procedures with the explicit goal of becoming a mother and raising the child. In this scenario, she is the intended parent. Even though the child will have a biological father (the anonymous sperm donor), the woman is the one who intends to be the legal and social parent, and her intent is established through her actions and the medical process.

• Example 3: Same-Sex Couple with Egg Donor and Surrogacy

  A male same-sex couple wishes to have a child. They use sperm from one partner, an egg from an anonymous donor, and a gestational surrogate to carry the pregnancy. Both men are the intended parents. They enter into legal contracts with both the egg donor (to relinquish rights) and the gestational surrogate (to carry the pregnancy and relinquish rights), clearly stating their intention to be the child's legal and sole parents from birth. Their legal status as intended parents allows them to establish parentage and be named on the birth certificate.