Surrogacy: Legal And Financial Issues To Consider

The Legal

The intended parents are responsible for most of the costs associated with surrogacy, including IVF, prenatal care, labor and delivery, legal fees, compensation for wages you may lose, childcare for your children when you attend medical appointments, and your life insurance payments. You usually benefit from hiring your own lawyer to go through the surrogacy contract, however.

Legal questions that you will want to look into include:

• Are surrogacy contracts legally enforceable in all involved jurisdictions? If not, what are the legal implications?
• What is the legal situation if a disagreement between you and the legal parents were to arise? What if the intended parents want to terminate the pregnancy? What if the intended parents end up divorcing or splitting up during the pregnancy? What if they do not want the baby all of a sudden? These scenarios, some of which are unlikely, do need to be looked at. 
• Will the intended parents be recognized as legal parents automatically, by virtue of the surrogacy agreement? If not, are you on board with the idea that you are the legal mother of the child, and an adoption will have to be arranged?
• Surrogacy in jurisdictions where it is not allowed has serious legal implications. This is generally always a bad idea, and something SteadyHealth has to advise you against: obeying the law is always recommended. 

The Financial

Whether you are considering acting as a commercial surrogate, working for a fee, or whether the surrogacy you are considering is strictly altruistic, being a surrogate mother should not leave you worse off. As you see, emotional, medical, legal and financial aspects of surrogacy come with a great deal of overlap. Potential surrogate mothers should consider what happens if the pregnancy leaves you permanently disabled for some reason in some detail. All the other aspects of compensation are a matter of agreement between you and the intended parents, and that agreement should, generally, be legally enforceable for you to be able to count on the compensation you agreed on. 

See Also: Complications Of Pregnancy You May Not Know About

Carrying a baby for someone else can be a beautiful experience you will look back on with much happiness. While the fact that surrogacy can also be very complex, a commitment that comes with many potential risks, should not dissuade you from being a surrogate, these issues should be taken very seriously so all parties can enjoy the pregnancy worry-free.