The Legal Process – It’s Super Complicated, but We’re Here For You!

So, you’ve been matched. You’ve been medically cleared. You’ve flown through a whirlwind of papers and phone calls and assessments, and you’re wondering when you actually get to the pregnancy part. Don’t worry. You’re almost there. But before you move on to the medical part of your surrogacy pregnancy, you’ll need to get through the legal contract and find the right legal team.

Now, we’ve worked with a few lawyers on their own journey to become parents through surrogacy. But for almost everyone else, when we bring up the legal part of surrogacy, their hearts start racing. Their eyes get wide, and most find it a bit scary to talk about.

THAT’S OK. It’s true – the legal part of the surrogacy journey is very complicated. But here’s something that’s also true – we’ve done this hundreds of times. We know how to help you find the legal professionals you need to get you to the best results possible.

Here are a couple of things to consider when you’re thinking through the legal part of your surrogacy journey –

Find a lawyer who specializes in reproductive law.

Here’s some great news – there are amazing legal precedents for surrogacy in many places in the United States. For YOUR surrogacy journey, you’ll need a lawyer who knows these legal precedents, someone who knows each part of the legal process for surrogacy exactly where you live – whether you’re a surrogate or the intended parents.  You need a lawyer who practices reproductive law.

Look at it this way – if you needed heart surgery, you wouldn’t go to the optometrist for your triple bypass. And if it is possible, you’d go to the very best heart surgeon you could find, right?

The legal process for surrogacy is no different. You don’t need a tax attorney or a real estate attorney. You need a lawyer who knows and practices reproductive law.

We make it our job to help you find the most incredible legal professionals around. And we make sure you know your options.

Both intended parents and surrogates need their own representation

It’s common for intended parents and surrogates to get along great, even to become fast friends. What often follows is a questions to us, “Do we really both need our own lawyers? We totally trust each other, so can’t we be legally represented by the same lawyer?”

Our short answer – no. You need your own independent representation. This is best practice.

Our longer answer – The surrogacy journey is amazing and beautiful. It’s also so complex. Your hopes and your worries and your new appreciation for the incredible parents or surrogate you’ve just met… it will all become a bit murky when you’re trying to make sure you’re meeting your needs through your legal contract.

You need a lawyer whose sole purpose is to look out for your interests and well-being through the legal part of this process. Most often parents and surrogates try to take care of each other, but when you know that you each have your own legal team, you can stop worrying about making sure everyone is alright and really focus on what you need to do for you and your family. (And, let us reassure you, there will be plenty of opportunities for intended parents and surrogates to take care of each other on this amazing journey!)

Signing a legal contract gives you protection and a sense of peace

It may feel like a lot, getting into a legal contract with someone so that you can carry their baby. It is. This is a big step on a monumental, life-changing journey. You’ll want to treat it with as much care as you can.

Once everyone has a chance to review the contract and sign it, you’ll have a marker on your journey that will serve you for the rest of the road ahead. Your contract allows you a way to point back to your intentions at the beginning of the journey, and to the intentions of the intended parents who signed the contract, too. Your lawyer can outline for you all the ways the contract will help you on your journey, but we know that treating this step with care and intention is truly important.

We’re here for you from the beginning.

We aren’t lawyers. But, after decades in the business, we know how to help you navigate the process – from finding the right legal help to asking the most important questions. Helping you navigate the complexity of the surrogacy journey is what we love to do. That includes helping you find your way through the legal process.

From the start, we’re here for you. You can call us anytime to ask any question. Frankly, we know most of the answers, and we also know when your question is perfect for another professional on your surrogacy team. We’ll help you get there.

The legal process takes a great deal of care. It’s also a critical part of the process to help parents move forward with incredible surrogates and create the family of their dreams. It’s an honor for us to help you work on this step of the journey so you can move on to the next – getting ready for pregnancy!

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This blog post is part of a series describing each part of the Surrogacy Timeline. Check out this blog post to start from the beginning and read along to find out what it takes to make your surrogacy dreams come true!