Gestational Surrogacy Agreements

The parties are free to use California law as a matter of choice of law  in a contract. California courts have jurisdiction to determine legal parentage in surrogacy cases if either the intended parents or the surrogate resides in California. It is also possible to file a parentage action in a county for reasons  such as place of embryo transfer, place of birth, and where the contracts are executed.  Not all states accept a surrogacy parentage order from another state. So consult with a knowledgeable ART attorney about what choice of law is best for your situation.

Most surrogacy contracts will terminate after a year or three embryos transfers and there is no pregnancy. It depends on the contract but usually the parties may terminate for any reason so long as the surrogate is not pregnant.

This is not really a legal question but it is a common question. 

→ There are limited number of grants 

→ Some people come up with a savings plan 

→ Some look for loan (commonly a home equity loan) 

→ Legal insurance can also help cover attorney fees  

We will be working adding Seedcoach as a free benefit to our ART clients if they need help budgeting.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you are allowed to take time off for serious medical conditions, which may include surrogacy-related medical appointments, provided you meet the eligibility requirements. However, as a surrogate before your pregnancy, you may not have a serious medical condition so the FMLA may not apply. 

Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), you cannot be terminated or discriminated against because of your pregnancy. This protection can extend to surrogates if your pregnancy impacts your ability to work. This can protect a surrogate while she is pregnant. 

In short, you should obtain permission from your employer for medical appointments. You may be protected from termination during your pregnancy, although you may be terminated if the reasons are not related to pregnancy.

Usually the surrogacy contract will require the intended parents to receive notice of the pregnancy medical appointments of the surrogate and give the right to attend them. 

The surrogate is supposed to sign paperwork from the doctor so the intended parents can attend appointments including the delivery. 

In most contracts, the intended parents may not interfere in the doctor-patient relationship and must respect the modesty of the surrogate. If only one person can be in the delivery room, usually the surrogate can decide who she wants to be there for support. 

Whether the Intended parents can attend appointments by phone or Facetime, will depend on the doctor’s office. Most do not allow it.

In some states like Washington and California, it doesn’t matter. In other states like Illinois you need to have a genetic connection to be recognized as a parent.

About 1/7 new mothers, including surrogates, experience postpartum depression. Psychological counseling can be used after birth to help treat postpartum depression. Counseling and surrogate support groups can also help a surrogate process her feelings during the pregnancy. Keeping stress low is important for a health pregnancy so counseling and support benefits the intended parents as well.

You do not need to choose your lawyer based on where you live. Your appointment to review the contract will be by video or by phone call, not in person. You will not need to go to the lawyer’s office to read or sign documents. You can sign our representation agreement electronically, and sometimes the contracts can be signed electronically. For contracts that need an in-person notary, you can go to any notary public to sign.

Read our blog here: https://www.tsonglaw.com/post/know-your-rights-paid-and-protected-leave-in-surrogacy

It depends on the contract. 

In many contracts, the surrogate will give intended parents or the agency the right to speak with her doctor and request and review medical records. 

In order to allow this, the surrogate will agree to sign a HIPAA release which authorizes the intended parents to review the medical records. 

The lawyer of the surrogate should limit it to only records relating to the pregnancy. 

In most cases, the intended parents will not request the medical records unless there is a complication in the pregnancy and they want to determine the reasons for the complication.