Most of them are of legal nature because the birth of a new person is a legally concerning moment.
To make sure your parental rights are protected and you’re on the steady line to accepting a surrogate newborn in your family, surrogacy contracts (or agreements) exist. Make sure yours is as detailed as it can be ‒ a qualified surrogacy lawyer can help you with writing and reviewing one.
What has to be included in a surrogacy agreement?
A written surrogacy contract has to cover a lot of things. Some of them are related to healthcare requirements, some outline legal issues, and some pinpoint financial obligations. Now, let’s give a good review of each of these.
Health points
Be sure you are familiar with the type of program you intend to use before you begin writing your contract. Only gestational surrogacy is permitted in Ukraine and many other countries that permit surrogacy ‒ note that before you start.
The contract should recognize the gestational carrier’s body autonomy in regard to pregnancy-related medical decisions. The contract should provide that the surrogate must give written notice of her plans to the IPs. The contract should include how the parents intend to cover the surrogate’s medical expenses. It is important to talk about things like insurance coverage, medical expenses, and direct financial compensation.
Legal points
The surrogacy contract is a mechanism for the gestational carrier you’ve chosen to cooperate with to officially accept the scenario. They will have to sign documents committing themselves to try to conceive and deliver the baby. A surrogacy agreement must also include the carrier’s agreement to give up custody of the baby when it is born.
Every surrogacy contract must also explicitly state that both intended parents agree to accept legal guardianship of the child once it’s born. This section of the contract must include all intended parents, including those who donated genetic material. The agreement must also specify that you are the child’s exclusive caregiver. This releases the gestational carrier from all obligations to the kid and enables your names to appear on the birth certificate.
Financial (compensation) points
Theoretically, the intended parents are only required to pay for the surrogate’s medical and legal expenses. They are permitted to cover the surrogate’s living costs throughout the surrogacy procedure, nevertheless.
Most of the time, gestational carriers will only consent to the procedure provided they receive fair pay. Make sure your contract specifies exactly the charges you will cover as well as how frequently. Some families give the surrogate a monthly salary, while others might wish to pay her back the whole amount once the baby is born.
Special considerations
More transparency in any surrogacy arrangement will always be a wise move. You should be clear about all expectations and take into account any potential issues. This way, you’ll avoid any issues that might arise.
Indicate in detail how many times you plan to try the implantation process as well as what you’ll do if it doesn’t work. If the pregnancy ends in a loss or stillbirth, you can specify in the contract whether you wish to try again or not.
How to create a good surrogacy contract?
A good surrogacy contract can be written under the supervision of experienced fertility or surrogacy lawyers. Both IPs and the surrogate have to have one.
Both parties create a set of requirements for the contract, and then, the lawyers meet to negotiate. The contract is reviewed until both parties are satisfied. After that, the intended parents and the surrogate sign the agreement, pushing it into action.
Note that the help of a professional surrogacy lawyer will increase your chances of creating a surrogacy contract that covers every scenario that might happen, expected or not.