One of the main, notorious developments in Spain was eradicating the different treatment of children born in and out of marriage in 1981. However, if you were to ask the author what the significant change in respect to children in Spain has been, he would say that the concept of family (from a legal point of view) has changed dramatically. Since 2005, same‑sex couples have been able to marry and adopt children, which was quite advanced at the time when considering that England and Wales first introduced civil partnerships in 2004 and same‑sex marriage in 2014.

What remains a thorny issue is surrogacy, which remains forbidden. The legal position is that a contract where a mother renounces all her rights over her child is not valid. Having said that, many Spanish nationals resort to surrogacy arrangements in countries where it is legal, such as Ukraine and the US. There was a series of issues whereby Spanish consulates were not registering children born out of surrogacy arrangements. A way around this issue has now been found. However, legislation needs to be introduced in Spain to regulate surrogacy as it is becoming a reality. Having to travel abroad, spending a considerable amount of time there and ensuring that the consulates and the authorities overseas issue the necessary documents to establish the relationship and the relevant travel permits are only a few of the challenges these families face. Other repercussions of having a child born abroad include, for example, the potential tax implications when the country grants automatic rights to citizenship, which can be complex.

In essence, modern families have evolved in the Spanish legal system; however, there is still a long way to go.

Italy

Daniele Muritano is an independent Civil Law Notary in Italy

In Italy, as of 2014, following the amendment of art.566 of the Italian Civil Code, there is full parity, for inheritance purposes, between all children. There is no longer any distinction between legitimate (born in wedlock) and natural (born out of wedlock) children.