INTENDED PARENTS

INTENDED PARENTS

Compensated surrogacy is now legal in Washington.

As of January 2019, Washington law allows intended parents to compensate surrogates for carrying and delivering a child. Previously, intended parents could only reimburse a surrogate for her expenses.

The new law opens the possibility of surrogacy to far more families, but it also includes strict requirements the parties must meet. For example, the parties must consult with mental health professionals and be represented by separate lawyers throughout the process. The law also includes explicit protections for surrogates, including stating that a surrogate retains the absolute right to make decisions about her own health and welfare, including about the pregnancy. Surrogates must also be at least 21 years old, have previously given birth to a child, and not have provided surrogacy services more than twice.  The surrogate and the intended parents must be represented by different lawyers.

Because most intended parents and surrogates already agree on the major “deal points,” many wonder why such a big contract is necessary. It’s true that the odds of a dispute are low. However, a good contract is necessary for three major reasons:

  1. The law, ARTS clinics, and common sense all require certain terms to be in writing. We don’t think you should need a lawyer to understand your own contract, so our agreements are written in plain language and logically organized. Everyone involved in the plan should be able to read the agreement and know what it means.
  2. The odds of disagreement may be low, but the stakes are extremely high for all parties, including the child. The ARTS process can take months or even years to complete, and if life throws a curveball during that time, you need to know to exactly what will happen to the plan.
  3. There will be situations neither party has thought of. After years of working with parties to ARTS agreements, we know how to anticipate and avoid problems down the road, and you will benefit from that experience.

Contact us if you need a genetic or gestational surrogacy contract.

Compensated surrogacy is now legal in Washington.

As of January 2019, Washington law allows intended parents to compensate surrogates for carrying and delivering a child. Previously, intended parents could only reimburse a surrogate for her expenses.

The new law opens the possibility of surrogacy to far more families, but it also includes strict requirements the parties must meet. For example, the parties must consult with mental health professionals and be represented by separate lawyers throughout the process. The law also includes explicit protections for surrogates, including stating that a surrogate retains the absolute right to make decisions about her own health and welfare, including about the pregnancy. Surrogates must also be at least 21 years old, have previously given birth to a child, and not have provided surrogacy services more than twice.  The surrogate and the intended parents must be represented by different lawyers.

Because most intended parents and surrogates already agree on the major “deal points,” many wonder why such a big contract is necessary. It’s true that the odds of a dispute are low. However, a good contract is necessary for three major reasons:

  1. The law, ARTS clinics, and common sense all require certain terms to be in writing. We don’t think you should need a lawyer to understand your own contract, so our agreements are written in plain language and logically organized. Everyone involved in the plan should be able to read the agreement and know what it means.
  2. The odds of disagreement may be low, but the stakes are extremely high for all parties, including the child. The ARTS process can take months or even years to complete, and if life throws a curveball during that time, you need to know to exactly what will happen to the plan.
  3. There will be situations neither party has thought of. After years of working with parties to ARTS agreements, we know how to anticipate and avoid problems down the road, and you will benefit from that experience.

Contact us if you need a genetic or gestational surrogacy contract.