Legalities
​
There are certain things you'll need to check the legalities of based on your specific potential match and yourself. The laws where the surrogate lives will be the most relevant, but where the IPs live matters, too. Please consider the following:
​
-
If you are an IP and you live in a different country than your surrogate, you will need to investigate the laws and procedures involved in bringing your baby(ies) back to your country. You will want to have a lawyer who is local to you, as well as one who is local to your surrogate.
-
If you are thinking of becoming a surrogate, research the laws in your state to see if they are favorable, and if they are favorable for the type of surrogacy that you are interested in pursuing. Some states allow altruistic (non-compensated) surrogacy only. Some states allow gestational surrogacy, but not traditional surrogacy, or there are different laws that must be followed when pursuing traditional surrogacy.
-
If you are an IP and are speaking with a potential surrogate, research the laws in her state. Are they favorable for the type of surrogacy you are looking to pursue (altruistic, paid, gestational, traditional)? Are there any special rules that you need to consider? What are the laws like regarding pre- or post-birth orders? Could your family get one? Different states have different rules depending on whether the IPs are single, partnered, married, gay, straight, both genetically related to the child, one of them is genetically related, or neither are genetically related to the child.
-
A surrogate can be single, partnered, or married. In some states, the husband of the person giving birth is named as the father by default. This means that he will need to submit a denial of paternity. Your attorney (local to your surrogate) can help with that along with everything else that is needed to establish parentage.
​
​
​