Fertility Contracts

Legal issues can arise with assisted reproductive technology.  What happens if a married couple freezes embryos and later separates?  Who decides what happens to the frozen embroyos?  Does a sperm or egg donor have a child support obligation to the child born from this arrangement? What happens if a gestational carrier decides that she wants to keep the baby she is carrying for another person? These are just some of the legal issues which can arise when assisted reproductive technology is used by prospective parents to have a child.  There are ways to protect individuals from legal issues resulting from assisted reproductive technologies.  Parties using such technologies should enter into contracts setting forth the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved.  For example, when a married couple decides to freeze embroyos, they should first enter into an agreement with one another setting forth what happens to the embroyos in the event of the death of either party or the parties’ divorce.

Surrogacy contracts should always be entered into when a surrogate is used to carry a child for another person or couple.  Similarly, egg and sperm donors should enter into contracts setting forth that they have no support obligation to the child born from their sperm or egg.  For more specific information, please feel free to contact one of our family law lawyers.

By: Julie Auerbach