Texas Legal Solutions for Your Growing Family

---

Texas has been a legal leader in gestational surrogacy law since 2003, when the Texas Legislature enacted one of the nation's first comprehensive statutory frameworks governing gestational surrogacy arrangements. Today, Texas remains one of the most established jurisdictions for intended parents pursuing surrogacy, with a well-developed body of law found in Texas Family Code §§ 160.751–160.763.

Texas surrogacy law permits married intended parents to obtain court ordered recognition of their parental rights through a validated gestational agreement and parentage order. Unlike many states that rely primarily on case law or informal court practices, Texas provides a detailed statutory process that gives intended parents, gestational carriers, fertility clinics, and hospitals a clear roadmap from embryo transfer through birth. Texas Family Code §§ 160.754 and 160.756 establish the requirements for a valid gestational surrogacy arrangement and Texas Family Code § 160.760 provides a mechanism for confirming the intended parents' legal parentage following the child's birth.

Texas has become a popular destination for LGBTQ+ family building, international surrogacy, and donor-assisted reproduction because of its strong laws protecting IVF treatments including surrogacy.  Married same-sex couples may pursue gestational surrogacy in Texas and can obtain court orders recognizing both spouses as legal parents, including situations where one or both intended parents do not share a genetic connection with the child. Texas law also permits the use of donor eggs, donor sperm, and donated embryos, provided the statutory requirements for a gestational agreement are satisfied.

Likewise, intended parents do not need to reside in Texas to pursue a Texas surrogacy journey. Texas courts regularly work with intended parents from throughout the United States and around the world, making Texas an  accessible destinations for intended parents living outside of the United States.

Texas law currently requires that intended parents be married to one another and that both spouses be parties to the gestational agreement. Texas Family Code § 160.754(b).

The court must also receive medical evidence showing that the intended mother is "unable to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth to the child or is unable to carry the pregnancy to term and give birth to the child without unreasonable risk to her physical or mental health or to the health of the unborn child." Texas Family Code § 160.756(b)(2).

Because Texas law expressly recognizes these medical circumstances, intended parents who themselves cannot carry thier own pregnancy whether because of biology, fertility struggles, recurrent pregnancy loss, prior cancer treatment, uterine-factor infertility, serious pregnancy complications, mental health complicaitons, or other medically significant barriers to pregnancy often find Texas to be an excellent legal option for building their families.

Texas law requires intended parents to satisfy standards of parental fitness similar to those applicable in adoption proceedings. See Texas Family Code § 160.756(b)(3). As a technical matter, a court may order a  home study before validating a gestational agreement.

In practice, however, many Texas courts routinely waive the home study requirement, based on an attorney's request for a waiver. When requesting a waiver, it is often helpful to provide documentation demonstrating parental readiness and fitness, including:

• Criminal background checks
• Child abuse registry clearances
• Mental health assessments
• Evidence of a safe and appropriate home environment
• Physical health evaluations
• Proof of financial stability
• Personal references and parenting-related training
• 
  

Although a formal home study is rarely required in many Texas jurisdictions, collecting these materials early can help streamline the court process and ensure that families are prepared if additional documentation is requested. Check in with your attorney to understand the most efficient way to prepare for any outcome with a Texas court.

For more than two decades, Texas has offered intended parents a stable legal framework for gestational surrogacy, clear statutory guidance, established parentage procedures, and extensive experience handling domestic and international surrogacy matters. 

Ready to take the next step in your legal process? Contact us today to schedule an appointment and learn more about our services in Texas and elsewhere.