Glass Law Office handles all legal aspects of third-party assisted reproduction. Whether you are looking to expand your family through use of assisted reproductive technology, or giving of yourself by being a surrogate, egg donor, sperm donor, or embryo donor, Glass Law Office is available to represent, guide, and support you through this emotionally charged process. Additionally, should litigation arise in any of these contexts, Glass Law Office is available to zealously represent your interests in court.
Services Provided
- Draft and review Gestational Surrogacy Agreements and Pre-Planned Adoption Agreements on behalf of commissioning couples / intended parent(s) and surrogates / volunteer mothers.
- Draft and review Genetic Donation Agreements (egg, sperm, and embryo).
- Establishment of parental rights of the commissioning couple / intended parents, through either pre- or post-birth parentage orders (for gestational surrogacies) or adoption proceedings (for pre-planned adoptions).
- Recommendations for reputable surrogacy agencies, genetic donation agencies (egg, sperm, embryo), fertility clinics, therapists, and more.
Gestational Surrogacy Agreement vs. Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement
For many people who desire to become parents, there are personal, medical, or professional reasons why they or their partner cannot or will not become pregnant. In such scenarios, hiring a surrogate is an option that has enabled many people to realize their dream of becoming parents. In Florida, depending on the facts of your case, your surrogacy arrangement will be classified in one of two ways: Gestational Surrogacy or Pre-Planned Adoption. The terminology in these two scenarios differs: in Gestational Surrogacy, the woman who will become pregnant is known as the Surrogate, and the couple who will become parents is known as the Commissioning Couple; whereas in Pre-Planned Adoption, the woman who will become pregnant is known as the Volunteer Mother, and the couple and/or individual who will become parents are known as the Intended Parents.
Both Gestational Surrogacy Agreements and Pre-Planned Adoption Agreements are agreements between the commissioning couple / intended parent(s) on the one hand, and the surrogate / volunteer mother and her spouse (if applicable) on the other hand. Both types of agreements detail the parties’ rights, obligations, intentions, and expectations in connection with their third-party assisted reproductive arrangement. The agreements cover topics such as parental rights, custody issues, compensation, location of delivery, future communication between the parties, insurance, control over medical decisions during the pregnancy, payment of medical bills, liability for medical complications, and other provisions required by Florida law. Whether to use a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement or a Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement depends on the specific facts of your case.
A Gestational Surrogacy Agreement, governed by Section 742.15 of the Florida Statutes, is proper where: (1) the commissioning parents are a legally married couple (can be a heterosexual or LGBTQ+ couple); (2) at least one of the commissioning parents is genetically related to the embryo; (3) the surrogate is not genetically related to the embryo; and (4) a licensed physician has determined within reasonable medical certainty that the commissioning mother cannot physically gestate a pregnancy to term, the gestation will cause a risk to the physical health of the commissioning mother, or the gestation will cause a risk to the health of the fetus. Gestational Surrogacy refers to the process by which a commissioning couple’s eggs and/or sperm are fertilized in vitro and the resulting embryo is then transferred into the surrogate’s uterus. Because of the legal protections afforded to commissioning couples and surrogates under Florida law, all parties can be certain that the surrogate has no legal connection to the child (or children) born through the Gestational Surrogacy Agreement. This is why the commissioning couple to a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement requires only a pre- or post-birth affirmation of parentage order to confirm the couple’s parental rights to the child. By contrast, intended parent(s) who utilize Pre-Planned Adoption Agreements discussed below require adoption proceedings to establish their parental rights and terminate the volunteer mother’s parental rights. In Florida, the law provides for an expedited procedure to affirm the child’s parentage, which will result in the issuance of a birth certificate with the commissioning couple being designated as the legal parents. A Pre-Birth Order directs the hospital where the child is born to place the commissioning couple’s names on the birth certificate of the child who was delivered by the surrogate. A Post-Birth Order allows the appropriate state department of vital records to place the commissioning couple’s names on the birth certificate of the child who was delivered by the surrogate.
A Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement, governed by Section 63.213 of the Florida Statutes, is defined as an agreement in which a volunteer mother (i.e., the surrogate) agrees to bear a child and relinquish parental rights to the intended parent(s). Any scenario that does not fit precisely into the requirements for a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement discussed above requires the use of a Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement. This is true regardless of whether one or both of the intended parents’ genetic material is used to create the embryo. Common scenarios requiring use of a Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement include: (1) Traditional Surrogacy, where the volunteer mother becomes pregnant through the use of her own egg; (2) Embryo Donation, where neither the intended parent(s) nor the volunteer mother provided genetic material for the creation of the embryo; (3) the intended parent is a Single Parent; and (4) the intended parents are an Unmarried Couple (can be a heterosexual or LGBTQ+ couple). Adoption proceedings are required to establish one or both of the intended parents’ parental rights and to terminate the volunteer mother’s parental rights to the child (or children) born through the Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement.
Genetic Donation Agreements (Egg, Sperm, Embryo)
Donation of eggs, sperm, and embryos is governed by Section 742.14 of the Florida Statutes. The statute expressly provides that the donor “shall relinquish all maternal or paternal rights and obligations with respect to the donation or the resulting children.” Exempted from the requirement to relinquish parental rights are donors who are part of a commissioning couple under a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement and an intended parent under a Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement. In other words, if you donate genetic material to your own gestational surrogacy or pre-planned adoption arrangement with the intention of becoming a legal parent, you will maintain your parental rights to the resulting child. If, however, you are not a party to the Gestational Surrogacy Agreement or Pre-Planned Adoption Agreement, or if you are a party to the Agreement but do not intend to become a parent to the resulting child, you will be required to relinquish all parental rights to the resulting child. Donation Agreements between the donor and the recipients specifically detail the parties’ rights and obligations with regard to the donation and cover issues that arise in third-party reproductive technology, including parental rights of the recipients, relinquishment of parental rights by the donor, confidentiality, required medical testing, future communication between the parties, expenses, liability for complications, and rights of the child, including the right of the child to know the identity of or contact the donor.