Gestational Carrier and Donor Agreements

Donor Insemination and Gestational Carrier Agreements

When trying to decide how you wish to create your family with the assistance of individuals outside your domestic partnership, careful consideration should be given to establishing the rights and obligations of all persons involved. Any agreement involving gestational carriers should clarify who does and does not have parental rights and/or obligations and the procedure by which those rights and/or obligations are established or terminated.

Contact us at 919-783-9669 today to discover how we can help you with your donor insemination and gestational carrier agreements.

Usually, people who anonymously donate sperm or eggs for the purpose of assisted reproduction forfeit their legal and other rights related to the biological children produced by their sperm or egg. In private arrangements, however, and if you know your donors, a form of co-parenting may be agreed upon. Whether or not those co-parenting agreements are enforceable by law depends on the jurisdiction you are in.

It is important, especially if you are participating in assisted reproduction with someone you know, that there be a written agreement. The agreement should involve the intended parents and the known donor, and it should include clarifications for all the legal issues related to the donation. This document serves to protect each person's responsibilities and rights before the donation or transfer occurs.

Depending on your local law and your agreement with the gestational carrier, sperm donor or egg donor, the party outside your domestic partnership helping in assisted reproduction may or may not be paid. Keep in mind that expenses are often reimbursed, even in unpaid arrangements.

These forms of agreements can proactively address unforeseen issues with assisted reproduction. In most situations, a well-researched and constructed donor agreement can prevent significant disagreements among the people involved in the assisted reproduction. It can avoid damage to the relationship between the intended parents and donors or gestational carriers.

For more information about assisted reproduction, please visit our gestational carrier page.

Call us to discuss your unique needs and goals.