Who Should See a Fertility Law Lawyer?
“intended parents”, surrogates, egg donors and sperm donors.
What can a Lawyer do for you?
- Draft and negotiate egg, sperm and embryo donor agreements
- Draft and negotiate surrogacy agreements
- Draft and negotiate multi-parent agreements
- Bring court applications for a declaration of parentage, second parent adoptions and step-parent adoption services
- Assist in the preparation, amendment or correction of Birth Registrations and Certificates
When Should You See a Lawyer?
It’s important to see a lawyer early on in the process to ensure that everyone’s rights and obligations are clarified both with respect to each other, embryos, eggs, sperm and children. There are significant implications for “legal” parents (i.e., child custody, access, child support) and legislation that provides for assumptions on who “parents” of a child are (i.e., biologically, whether cohabiting at the time of birth, etc.). Thus, it is important before any child is conceived to see a lawyer to gain an understanding of possible rights and obligations that flow from the conception process (and also simply the birth registration process later on).
After a child is born you may also need to retain a lawyer for assistance on birth registration and birth certificates. In certain situations, a second parent adoption or step-parent adoption may be necessary to reflect the intended parent’s respective relationships with their child.
Who Needs Legal Assistance with Respect to What?
Surrogates: reviewing and negotiation of surrogacy agreements, reviewing and commissioning affidavits for declaration of parentage, etc.
Donors: reviewing and independent legal advice on donor agreements, reviewing and commissioning affidavits for declaration of parentage, etc.
Intended parents: drafting of surrogacy agreements, multi-parent agreements, donor agreements, embryo disposition agreements (ie., in the event of separation or death), 2nd parent adoptions, step-parent adoptions, declaration of parentage, assistance with the birth registration process,
The above information is not legal advice of any kind, and you should be sure to speak to a qualified family law lawyer about your specific situation. For more information, call us at 905-273-4588 or email us at contact@kainfamilylaw.com to book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our experienced family law lawyers.