what to ask an art attorney as surrogate

Before making a final decision on a lawyer for surrogacy, consider questions to ask a surrogacy lawyer, such as: How long have you worked in the surrogacy field? What is your experience with ART?

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What Does My LAwyer Need from Me?

Your lawyer needs complete and total honesty and candor from you. Remember that your lawyer will hold everything you tell him or her in complete confidence until you give permission to disclose. If your lawyer doesn’t know everything, he or she can’t properly advise you. If you are concerned that there are things about your financial condition, your family relationships, or your background that will make the surrogacy journey more difficult or impossible, you must tell your lawyer and let the lawyer advise you on how to deal with these matters. Failure to disclose information could cause serious consequences for you in the future. Your lawyer is trained to be a creative problem-solver, so let him or her help you with your concerns.

How Do I Choose a Lawyer?

The field of ART law is very specialized, and it is important for you to choose a lawyer with experience. Seek referrals from your reproductive endocrinologist or from friends who have children born through surrogacy. If you have already chosen a surrogacy matching program, then your agency may provide referrals. Ask prospective attorneys how many surrogacy matters they have handled in the past year, and ask them to provide you with names of previous clients who are willing to serve as a reference. Inquire whether the lawyer is a member of professional organizations relating to surrogacy and if he or she attends conferences to keep current on developments in the law around the country. Expect the attorney to provide you with detailed and specific information about fees and expenses for legal work.

Who Drafts the Contract?

Your lawyer will then send the draft to the surrogate’s attorney , and there may be some negotiation over the terms. Your lawyer’s responsibility to you is to provide advice and counsel as you finalize a contract that protects your interests while respecting the interests of the surrogate.

Do We Go to Court?

Depending on the state where your child will be born, your lawyer may petition the court for a pre-birth order that declares that you are the legal parents of the child and that confirms that the gestational surrogate has no rights or responsibilities to the child. In some states, the court will issue the order after the child’s birth. Your lawyer will need to provide documentary evidence to the court to convince the judge to issue the order, and your lawyer’s knowledge of the state’s laws and the customs and rules of the local court are critical.

Why is a surrogacy lawyer important?

Why is a surrogacy lawyer so important in crafting a surrogacy contract and in the surrogacy process in general? It’s because a surrogacy attorney’s experience is necessary to point out the risky parts of the surrogacy process that first-time intended parents and surrogates may not be attuned to.

What is an ART attorney?

There are many ways that a surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology (ART) attorney will help you in your journey to fulfilling your surrogacy goals, whether you’re an intended parent or prospective surrogate. 1. They will explain your local surrogacy laws and regulations. As mentioned before, surrogacy laws vary by state.

What is a surrogacy contract?

A surrogacy contract covers all parts of your surrogacy journey: compensation for the surrogate, expectations and responsibilities for intended parents and surrogates during the process, sensitive issues like termination and selective reduction, risks and liabilities for both parties, and more. When you work with an experienced surrogacy lawyer, they can address all of the aspects that need to be addressed — which you cannot do on your own. Filling out a surrogacy contract online will not fulfill all of the necessary parts of a successful surrogacy contract; it must be completed by experienced surrogacy lawyers.

Do surrogates need a lawyer?

Intended parents and surrogates will need separate surrogacy lawyers for this part of the legal process, as their rights and interests must be independently protected to create an equitable surrogacy journey .

Do surrogacy lawyers explain laws?

2. They will make sure your surrogacy is completed legally. Your surrogacy lawyer doesn’t just explain these local surrogacy laws to you — they follow up to make sure that your process adheres to them.

Can a surrogate have parental rights?

Even though a surrogate is not genetically related to the baby she carries in most cases, without certain legal processes, she may still have rights to the child — or the intended parents may not have automatic parental rights after birth, especially if a sperm, egg or embryo donor is used. In order to protect those rights, your surrogacy attorney ...

Is a surrogacy attorney necessary?

As you can see, a surrogacy attorney is a necessary part of your surrogacy journey, no matter whether you’re an intended parent or prospective surrogate. When you’re choosing a surrogacy attorney to work with, it’s important to choose an experienced ART attorney who is familiar with the surrogacy laws in your state.

What is the main service a surrogacy lawyer provides in a surrogacy transaction?

The main service a surrogacy lawyer provides in a surrogacy transaction is the execution of your contract. This agreement covers the establishment of intended parents’ parental rights, the termination of a surrogate’s parental rights, and the details of both parties’ rights and obligations throughout the surrogacy transaction. 4.

What happens after a surrogate and intended parent agree to a contract?

After intended parent (s) and surrogate agree to the terms in the surrogate contract, all parties must go through the parental establishment process, which finalizes intended parents’ parental rights in the court. Your attorney can help you understand how this court hearing works.

How do I Find a Surrogacy Attorney?

Usually, the laws of the state where the surrogate lives will determine the legal process needed to complete the surrogacy .

What is a surrogacy lawyer?

A surrogacy lawyer is an irreplaceable part of your surrogacy team, as you cannot legally or ethically complete the process without one. Surrogacy involves a complicated legal process, including taking steps to protect yourself and the other surrogacy party from risks and liabilities, protecting the intended parents’ parental rights and more.

What is the purpose of drafting and finalizing a surrogacy contract?

Drafting and finalizing the surrogacy contract, which protects the rights of both intended parents and prospective surrogates and addresses important issues like parental rights and surrogate compensation

Can a surrogacy attorney help you?

If you’re looking for case management or matching services, a surrogacy attorney will not be able to provide those services. Instead, you’ll want to work with a surrogacy agency, which can refer you to a surrogacy attorney (many times at a discounted, flat-rate charge instead of the hourly rate charged in independent surrogacies). While your attorney will work closely with you to complete the legal process of your surrogacy, they will likely have other cases, as well, and may not be able to devote the one-on-one support you may desire from your primary surrogacy professional.

Can a surrogate lawyer provide additional services?

It’s important to know that if you choose to pursue an independent surrogacy with the goal of only using a surrogacy lawyer and a fertility clinic, surrogacy lawyers rarely provide any additional services outside of legal assistance . The legal services that they do provide are:

Do surrogates need their own lawyer?

Usually, the laws of the state where the surrogate lives will determine the legal process needed to complete the surrogacy. Each party in the surrogacy will need their own lawyer to protect their interests. This is a key part of drafting a surrogate agreement that is fair to both the surrogate and the intended parent.