Surrogacy contract

As with many other life-changing medical procedures, surrogacy requires signing a lot of paperwork. Moreover, said paperwork also has to be properly created to ensure you are legally protected as a parent of a surrogate-born child.

This is particularly why surrogacy contracts exist. They require special attention from every party that signs it, and especially from you as intended parents. A good surrogacy attorney will help you create and negotiate a fair surrogacy contract that protects your parental rights.

What are surrogacy contracts and how do they work?

So, what is a surrogacy contract?

By default definition, this is a clear blueprint of your surrogacy journey. The contract defines the roles and responsibilities. and rights and best interests of everyone who is a part of the process: the surrogate, the intended parents, and the baby that’s going to be delivered by the surrogate mother.

This is a very important and delicate document that directly affects you and protects the future of your family. Surrogacy attorneys from HermanFamily Consulting & Law can help you create and negotiate a proper surrogacy contract that will defend your parental rights and protect you as intended parents from any legal mishaps.

The process of creating a surrogacy contract

The creation of this contract is not a one-man job. Instead, every side of the process contributes to the making of this document via their attorneys ‒ this is particularly why it’s important to have one by your side.

The intended parents and their attorney draft the first version of the contract, and then the attorney of the surrogate reviews it. Every side works with their attorneys to make sure their interests are represented and protected in this vital document. This is when the negotiation process starts ‒ lawyers from each side collaborate to make a contract that will benefit everyone.

It’s especially important for the contract to be signed before any medical procedures are conducted because this document regulates every medical procedure involved in the journey as well.

What to look for in the surrogacy contract?

Of course, the final version should look appealing to both sides. This includes not only creating a perfect outline for surrogacy, but also an understanding of medical and other risk aspects. For example, both intended parents and a surrogate should be aware that there might be a few attempts before the pregnancy is clinically stated. This is something that should be written in a contract as well ‒ the number of embryo transfer attempts.

Also, the contract must comply with local fertility laws and regulations to prevent any legal problems within the program in which the surrogacy takes place. Intended Parents’ citizenship also plays a key role in determining the legality and strategy of the exit process and naturalization (granting of citizenship and permanent residency) for the child born via surrogacy abroad.

The financial side is also something that should be highlighted in the contract. The document should include the most expenses and who covers them and when. It also has to be negotiated whether the surrogate gets compensation for traveling, renting an apartment, and other expenses or not.

Some worst-case scenarios should also be included in the contract because, sadly, miscarriages and other events heavily affect the run of the surrogacy program.

Why are independent contracts worse?

Sure, it’s not entirely forbidden to refuse a surrogacy attorney’s services and try to write a surrogacy contract on your own. But simply from a practical point of view, it’s a higher risk for unpredictable outcomes because you most likely don’t have sufficient expertise in surrogacy law to write a compelling contract that covers every important aspect.

When it comes to legal support, there’s no time and place to improvise on your own. Laws require expertise and experience in an appropriate field ‒ something that only attorneys have. With surrogacy laws, you need not just a regular attorney, though ‒ you need someone who specializes in surrogacy regulations and its aspects.

Anastasia Herman will gladly help you with writing and negotiating a surrogacy contract that will legally protect you and your surrogate-born child even after the birth of an infant.