Why a Lawyer/Attorney is so Important in the Area of Third Party Reproduction

As most of your reading this know…having an attorney when diving into the prospect of becoming a parent through Assisted Reproductive Technologies is one of the most important things that you can do. That becomes even more important once Egg Donors and Surrogates also get involved. Having a lawyer, especially one that specializes in Reproductive law, becomes more important for a few reasons:

1. EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE. A lawyer within the field of Reproductive law will not only know the laws concerning surrogacy and egg donation in each state, but they will also have the experience in dealing with prospective parents as well as surrogates and egg donors.

2. CONTRACTS. An experienced attorney will be able to draft a comprehensive surrogacy and/or egg donation agreement that will be able to address any issues, whether monetary or not, that may arise during the course of the contract.

3. TRUST ACCOUNTS/FUND MANAGEMENT. A lawyer experienced in reproductive law will be able to tell prospective parents what fees and/or expenses are customary and will be able to fully handle your trust account along with keeping your relationship with your surrogate and/donor separate from any issues regarding funds.

4. DISPUTE RESOLUTION. With the help of an experienced attorney, you will have an intermediary for any disputes that may arise during the surrogate pregnancy between you and your surrogate.

5. RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT. Having an attorney that drafts your surrogacy contract and/or egg donation contract can aid prospective parents in deciding what type of relationship they will have with either their egg donor and/or their surrogate throughout the pregnancy and after.

Along with these few reasons there are numerous others that illustrate why you should have an experienced reproductive lawyer prior to embarking on egg donation and/or surrogacy. What are your thoughts?