Legal Assistance With Surrogacy Agreements and Assisted Reproduction

The birth of a child is a magical, emotional event for any family. For same-sex couples, assisted reproduction – including in vitro fertilization (IVF) which is now referred to as intrauterine insemination (IUI), intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), using a donor egg or sperm or using a surrogate – offers the opportunity to build a family other than through adoption. But, assisted reproduction can be full of legal pitfalls related to parental legal rights that can quickly turn an otherwise happy day into a legal nightmare. Having an enforceable surrogacy agreement in place can ensure that your whole family comes home from the hospital after the birth of your child via a surrogate.

Donor Contracts For Assisted Reproduction

Donor agreements are legal agreements that are intended to spell out the rights and obligations of each person involved in an assisted reproduction relationship, including:

• Known donor agreement. These cover both egg donors and sperm donors and define what rights, if any, a donor will have to care for a child as well as define what obligations, if any, a donor will have to provide for the child (such as child support).
• Embryo donor agreement. These cover the rights and obligations, if any, of a couple that donates a fertilized egg (an embryo).
• Gestational surrogacy contract. This covers legal issues related to medical care and living expenses during pregnancy, labor, and delivery for a woman who has agreed to carry your child to term for you and your partner. These will typically also include information about cutting off the legal rights that a surrogate may have over a child that she carried.

Surrogacy agreements may also provide for the payment of a small fee for the services of the surrogate. The importance of having effective, enforceable donor agreements in place before a child is conceived cannot be understated. A substantial amount of heartache and legal troubles may be avoidable if a lawyer is contacted early in the process of expanding your family through assisted reproduction.

Daly Mills Family Law Can Protect What’s Yours

If you and your partner are considering using a surrogate to complete your family, contact us online or call our Mooresville office at 704-878-2365 to discuss how effective legal documents can ensure that the birth of your baby is met with tears of joy and not a legal nightmare.