Time for the legal contract phase of your surrogacy journey? Here are 5 tips to get you from ready, set to go!
Ready for legal contracts? Learn how to get set and go with the legal phase of your surrogacy journey with these pro tips from a veteran surrogacy lawyer.
Tip #1: Pick an Experienced Lawyer
As a surrogacy lawyer, I know that surrogacy law is really complicated. Make that really really super duper complicated. It’s not something your average family lawyer is going to know about. Now is not the time to ask your lawyer friend who practices criminal law to take on this task. Nor is it the time to ask your uncle who did a sperm donation contract once 20 years ago for a client. You want someone who not only has experience in the field but who regularly attends continuing education sessions in assisted reproductive technology law. A good place to look is the online directory of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys AKA “Quad A” or “AAAA” (make sure you pick a lawyer specifically listed as an “ART” lawyer).
However, not all experienced attorneys are members of AAAA so you may have to dig a little harder. Attorneys who are members of the American Bar Association’s Assisted Reproductive Technologies Committee have expressed a specific interest in ART law. Some of these lawyers are highly experienced, while others are newer to the field. A newer lawyer being mentored by an experienced lawyer can also be a good choice.
Tip #2: Pick a Lawyer Who Uses Flat Fees
In the legal world, most lawyers bill based on the time they put into your case. The surrogacy field is different because most lawyers bill at a flat rate. With a flat rate, you know going into the contract how much you will be paying for legal fees. Very few things in a surrogacy journey are predictable, so it can be reassuring to at least know exactly what your legal fees will be. Be sure to ask about any extra costs that are billed separately from the legal fee, such as postage or notary fees.
Tip #3: Trust Your Lawyer
The best person to give you legal advice is your own lawyer who knows the relevant states’ laws and knows your specific situation. You are not going to get better advice from Professor Google or from Facebook groups. If something seems off based on what you have learned doing your own research, there’s likely a good reason for it. So ask your lawyer. After all, we are the ones being paid to answer your questions so take advantage of that!
Tip #4: Be Responsive
The faster you respond to your lawyer, the faster the legal process is going to move. If I ask my clients some questions, and they take a week to respond to me, then I cannot finish my tasks until they respond to me. A week’s delay here and a week’s delay there can really drag out the process. If you want to get the contract done in the typical 2-week turnaround that I quote clients, you need to respond to me in a timely manner.
Tip #5: Read Your Contract Fully
Make sure you read your whole contract, from the very beginning through to the very end. It’s helpful if you do that before you meet with your attorney, so you can have your questions ready. When I review a contract, I do so on my computer screen. I make notes in the margins using Microsoft Word’s comments function, and I also use the highlight function to mark things I need to follow up on. But, you can certainly use pen and paper to do this. Whatever works best for you. Just have those questions ready for your attorney before your Zoom consult (and most of us are doing primarily Zoom consults nowadays with our clients, which means you don’t need to live near your attorney’s office to make the process work).
So those are your 5 pro tips! Now you are ready to GO!