Surrogacy Attorney | Fertility Attorney

Legal

As a Parent, there are many positive reasons to grow your family through surrogacy!

How you got here doesn’t matter. What matters is fulfilling your dream to grow your family.

Whether you are privately struggling with infertility, you identify as a member of the LGBT community, or you are a single parent who does not want to wait, surrogacy could be the right solution for you.

Sage offers its members a general summary of what they can expect when entering into a surrogacy agreement, egg donation agreement, sperm donor agreement, or embryo donation agreement. Sage can offer its members a summary of the legal process and connect members to professionals in this field that can help them specifically. Sage will offer a directory of attorneys that their members may choose from to assist them. Sage will only list attorneys with the requisite experience in this very specific and nuanced field of law.

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Legal

As a Parent, there are many positive reasons to grow your family through surrogacy!

How you got here doesn’t matter. What matters is fulfilling your dream to grow your family.

Become a Member

Contracts

Too often, parents that are so excited to have located a surrogate or donor of some type try and proceed without realizing that they need to have a contract written to be signed by both parties. IVF clinics frequently will not allow for any egg donations to take place without ensuring a contract between the parties has been reviewed with legal counsel and signed by both parties. These contracts are of the utmost importance to secure rights and protect both parties. This is equally true for all matches, whether gestational surrogacy or egg donation, sperm donation, or embryo donation. The agreements are enforceable in court and will clearly outline parental rights, payments owed, and lifestyle restrictions, describe insurance to be used, how medical payments will be paid, and much more. Agreements must be written to describe the parties’ intentions regarding their ongoing and future contact. This is true for anonymous egg donations to a parent’s relationship with their surrogate. Members of Sage will receive a list of things that either party may want to consider in their contracts when working with their specialized legal counsel.

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Trust/Escrow

Many parents choose to or are required to have the funds they are spending during the process processed through an escrow company or the trust account of an attorney. This is a process that is typically used to protect all parties, to make sure that the money is safe during the process and that there is adequate in the account to finance the needs and milestone payments listed in the surrogacy agreement, egg donor agreement. Members of Sage will receive a list of attorneys that hold trust funds in such a manner as well as other escrow companies that specialize in this process.

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Parental Rights

Once there is a confirmed and healthy pregnancy, the final step is to secure parental rights from a judge in a court with valid jurisdiction. Your specialized legal counsel will prepare the necessary documents when the time is right. These orders are granted both before the baby is born (pre-birth order) or after the baby is born (post-birth order). The process depends on the state your legal counsel will choose that has proper jurisdiction. Members of Sage will receive general process information that can guide the parties depending on which state they are considering using.

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Fertility Attorneys

Intended Parents need a legal partner to help them feel more confident and secure throughout their third-party reproduction journey. Their Fertility Attorney will work to make sure all of the legal aspects of the process run smoothly and ensure that their rights are protected.

For more information, click the link to join our membership program. Members get full access to all pages on our website, including our full library of informational videos and our directory to find the right professionals for your needs.

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Birth Orders

After the birth of the baby, a birth certificate is ultimately issued to the Intended Parents. These come from the state department of vital records from the state in which the baby was born. Most birth certificates are generally similar in their form and content. However, members of Sage can get more specific answers about birth certificate form, function, and preparation depending on the state the baby is being born in.

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Family Estate Planning

Planning for the future of your family in the event of a tragedy isn’t something that isn’t done after a baby is born. During the surrogacy process, it is important to initiate that process while the surrogate is pregnant, in event of a worst-case scenario. Members of Sage will receive a list of possible attorneys that can help them start or revise a suite of estate planning documents. These may include wills, trusts, and guardianship documents, just to name a few.

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Why do I need an Attorney for Assisted Reproduction or Third-Party Reproduction?

Locating and using an attorney that specializes in third party reproduction is an important step in starting your journey to become a parent through surrogacy or egg/sperm donation. To help you locate an attorney that will help you navigate your situation, Sage offers its members a database of professionals that can help our members specifically, no matter where they or their surrogate or donor resides.

Does my Egg Donor need to have a different Attorney than me?

As with any process that involves the law, it is important for you and your donor to have attorneys in their corner to help them navigate their rights and responsibilities. By using independent attorneys, both parties can be certain that all issues can be discussed, considered and resolved before the medical aspect of the donation starts.

Does my Surrogate need to have a different Attorney than me?

Ensuring that your surrogate has her own independent attorney is the first step in making certain that your journey will go as smoothly as possible from the very beginning. Some states, such as California, require the surrogate to have her only attorney – but regardless of state laws, it is prudent to have independent counsel on both sides.

Can my own personal Attorney fill in this role?

Some parents believe that they can use their friend, cousin or personal attorney to handle the aspects of your journey to parenthood, but your legal representation should not be something that you try and save money on. The legal aspects of surrogacy are complex and retaining an attorney with experience in this specialized field is imperative to make certain that your journey is positive from the start.

Quick links to our Searchable Database of Industry Professionals:

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Legal Disclaimer: The participant understands that Association has no control or oversight over the services provided to the Participant by any vendors associated with the Association member benefits platform. Sage has secured these vendors as independent third parties, and Sage does not warrant or guarantee their services, nor does Association accept any liability for any damages possibly incurred by the Participant in working with any of the Association’s vendors.

*SURROGATE ELITE Not available in all states at this time.

Contracts

Trust/Escrow

Parental Rights

Fertility Attorneys

Birth Orders

Family Estate Planning

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Why do I need an Attorney for Assisted Reproduction or Third-Party Reproduction?

Does my Egg Donor need to have a different Attorney than me?

Does my Surrogate need to have a different Attorney than me?

Can my own personal Attorney fill in this role?

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Quick links to our Searchable Database of Industry Professionals: