Surrogacy
Surrogacy agreements everyone understood before the first appointment
A gestational carrier agreement settles the things nobody wants to argue about later: medical decisions, expenses, contact during the pregnancy, what happens in every kind of outcome, and who the legal parents are when the child is born. It should be signed before any medication begins, and each side needs its own lawyer.
We represent intended parents. We also represent carriers, in separate matters and never on both sides of the same arrangement. We do not recruit carriers or match anyone; an agency or a clinic does that, and we review what they send you.
What we handle
Gestational carrier agreements for intended parents
Carrier representation, in a separate matter
Review of agency, clinic and insurance paperwork
Escrow and expense terms
Parentage orders, before or after the birth as the law allows
Arrangements that cross state or national lines, with local counsel
What the agreement settles
Six things a carrier agreement has to say out loud
Each one is easy to agree to in a warm conversation and hard to decide in a hospital corridor.
Who decides what
Medical decisions during the pregnancy, and the carrier’s right to make decisions about her own body.
Who pays, and when
Compensation, medical costs, insurance and the escrow account that holds the money.
Contact and updates
How often the parents and the carrier talk, and how each wants to be included.
Hard outcomes
What happens with a loss, a multiple pregnancy or a medical emergency, written while everyone is calm.
Legal parents
The order that names the intended parents, and when the court will sign it.
After the birth
Birth certificate, hospital paperwork and the carrier’s own recovery.
Questions about surrogacy
Do we and the carrier need separate lawyers?
Yes. Their interests differ at several points, so each side should have its own lawyer. Many agencies and courts expect it, and so do we.
Can you find us a carrier?
No. Carriers come through agencies, clinics or people you know. Once you have found one, we write the agreement and review everything the agency and the clinic ask you to sign.
What if the court will not sign a parentage order before the birth?
Some courts sign before the birth and some after it. The agreement should say what happens either way, and we tell you which applies to you at the start.
Does it matter where the baby is born?
It can, because the law of the state of birth and the law of your home state may both matter. We map that out before you sign anything.
Planning a surrogacy?
Send us the draft you have, or just the questions you have. Either is a good start.