On April 1, 2025, The Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act, which was passed in 2024, takes effect. This statute permits Gestational Surrogacy in Michigan and recognizes the Intended Parents as the resulting child’s sole legal parents. The Act also requires the State Registrar to issue an amended birth certificate consistent with a parentage judgment order.
Do courts grant pre-birth parentage orders? Yes, under the new statute, a parentage judgment can be issued before or after the birth of the child. As in many other states, the pre-birth order will not become effective until the moment of birth. The parentage petition must be accompanied with certifications from the attorneys of the surrogacy agreement, attesting its compliance with the statute’s requirements.
Can both Intended Parents be declared the legal parents in a pre-birth order if at least one parent is genetically related to the child?
Can both Intended Parents be declared the legal parents in a pre-birth order if no parent is genetically related to the child?
What are the bases for venue? County in which the “child resides, is born, or will be born,” county in which a parent or intended parent resides, or county in which a proceeding has been commenced for administration of the estate of an individual who is or may be a parent. Further, Michigan law controls if the assisted reproduction is performed in Michigan.
Do results vary by county? No
Is a hearing required to obtain a pre-birth order? No
Is a pre-birth order possible in Michigan based on a Gestational Carrier’s plan to deliver in Michigan, if no party lives in Michigan? Yes
Will Michigan Vital Records honor a pre-birth order from another state? Hopefully yes, under the Full Faith & Credit Clause of the US Constitution. Time will tell once the new statute takes effect.
What is the typical time frame to obtain a birth certificate after delivery? Unknown at this time. A better approximation will be available once the statute has been in effect for a while to see how long local vital records offices take.
How are same-sex parents named on the final birth certificate? They will be named as parents, but unknown if they will be named as parent/parent or father/father until babies are born under the new statute.
Can an international same-sex male couple obtain an initial birth certificate naming the biological father and Gestational Carrier? Uncertain, but there is nothing preventing international parents from doing surrogacy in Michigan.
Can they subsequently (or initially) obtain a birth certificate naming only the biological father or both fathers, with no mention of the Gestational Carrier? Uncertain until the law takes effect.
Can the non-biological parent obtain a second-parent adoption based solely on the fact that the child was born in Michigan (i.e., neither of the Intended Parents lives in Michigan)? Uncertain until the law takes effect.
If no, will Michigan Vital Records honor a second parent adoption order from another state and add the second parent to the birth certificate? Hopefully, but uncertain until the law takes effect, and it is requested.
Note: This situation typically arises if the child is born outside of the state. The parents then return to Michigan for a stepparent adoption in Michigan. Second-parent adoptions are not available to unmarried couples.
Will courts in Michigan grant stepparent adoptions to heterosexual couples living in Michigan? Yes
Does the couple need to be married? Yes
Will courts in Michigan grant stepparent adoptions to same-sex couples living in Michigan? Yes
Is there a statute or published case law that addresses the rights of a donor over the resulting eggs, sperm, embryo or child? Yes, The Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act provides that a donor is not a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction, either by surrogacy or otherwise.
The The Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act includes traditional surrogacy, referring to the surrogate as a “genetic surrogate.”
Beverly J. Cox
bcox@bevcoxlaw.com
Toledo, OH
(419) 242-1400
Surrogacy laws are different from state to state across the US. We have compiled the leading state-by-state surrogacy law map that features laws as actually practiced in all 50 states. The US Surrogacy Law Map™ is protected by US Copyright laws and is the sole and exclusive property of Creative Family Connections LLC (“CFC”).