A typical surrogacy arrangement is a two-part legal process. When Intended Parent(s) and Surrogate enter a surrogacy arrangement, they must do so voluntarily. A complete Surrogacy Contract expressly reflects the rights, responsibilities, and risks as understood and agreed by Intended Parent(s) and Surrogate. The Surrogacy Contract is essentially a document of the parties’ intentions to voluntarily enter a surrogacy arrangement, which will later be a necessary component for obtaining a Pre-birth Order.
Once you have decided to retain our office to represent you in your upcoming surrogacy journey, the followings will happen:
1. You will receive an engagement agreement for review with explanations of our office’s services and fees. If you approve, please sign and send it back to our office. The Intended Parents will be responsible for your legal fees.
2. We will reach out to you to schedule a legal consult once we have received the initial draft Surrogacy Contract from the Intended Parents’ attorney.
3. Should you request revisions to the Surrogacy Contract, we will review and negotiate on your behalf.
4. Once both parties have agreed on the final version of the Surrogacy Contract, it is ready for signatures. We will issue legal clearance to the Intended Parents’ attorney after you have signed the final Surrogacy Contract, indicating that you are legally ready to proceed. In turn, the Intended Parents’ attorney will issue legal clearance to the IVF Clinic signifying that both parties are now legally clear to proceed with further medical procedures.
We recommend that you go to a local notary public for an in-person notarization. Online notarization may not be recognized by the courts in certain counties.
The total time required for a final Surrogacy Contract from preparation to issuing legal clearance varies, but it normally ranges from 3 to 4 weeks.
We charge a flat fee for reviewing and negotiating the Surrogacy Contract on your behalf. Please contact our office for our standard fee schedules.
Note: The Intended Parents are responsible for paying the Surrogate’s legal fees.
While you are welcome to and we would love to have you be in the office, it will not be necessary. Almost all communications are conducted via phone, fax, mail, and email.