I represent both surrogate mothers and intended parents, in formulating the terms of the contract for surrogacy. I provide these services in cases involving donation of the semen and/or ova, and also provide representation to the donors. I have worked with the National Fertility Law Center, one of the largest surrogacy agencies in the world for inter-state and international surrogacy and arrangements. As reproductive technology develops, I develop the legal pathways to protect the parties, and implement their intentions.
Each party to a surrogacy agreement, or donor agreement, requires his or her own separate legal representation, in order to ensure that all parties are properly advised and protected. Surrogacy contracts are lengthy and detailed, due to the many complex considerations that must be addressed. It is critical that the contract be properly and clearly written, and that each party be completely informed as to the terms of the agreement.
After the surrogate's pregnancy has developed beyond the first 3-4 months, if I represent the Intended Parents (IP's), I obtain a court order, pre-birth, establishing that the surrogate (and her husband, if any) is not a legal parent of the baby, and that the IP's (or, in some cases one of the IP's) is the legal parent of the baby. The court order then serves to authorize the birth certificate to list the affirmed parent IP (or IP's) as the baby's legal parent, and authorizes the affirmed parent(s) to take custody of the baby upon birth. Currently, when the IP's are a gay couple, it is difficult to affirm the parental status of both IP's, and, in some cases, only one of the IP's is affirmed as legal parent prior to birth. In those cases, the second IP obtains his parental rights via second parent adoption, after the child is born.
My practice includes the full range of family law services, including prenuptial and antenuptial agreements, all aspects of divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly known as custody), step-parent adoptions, grandparent rights, and estate planning. I also provide family law and estate planning services to gays and lesbians, including parental rights (for couples residing anywhere in Colorado), allocation of parental rights, sperm donor agreements, surrogacy agreements, gay and lesbian "divorce," domestic partnership agreements, wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
