Intended Parents
In recent years, assisted reproductive technology (ART) has become an increasingly popular method of growing one’s family. Medical advances have outpaced the laws regarding family formation, requiring creativity and ingenuity. We have been at the forefront of representing intended parents using ART in Arizona.
What Types of People are Interested in Assisted Reproduction?
- Couples who can’t bring a pregnancy to term
- Same-sex couples who want to become parents
- Unmarried individuals who want to become parents
What is Surrogacy and How Does it Work?
Assisted reproduction is a collaborative pregnancy between a gestational carrier and intended parents. An embryo may be created with:
- The intended father’s sperm
- The intended mother’s egg
- A donor’s sperm
- A donor’s egg
The genetic materials used will determine not only the genetic relationship of the child to the parents, but also the necessary legal steps necessary to assure the intended parents are legally recognized as the parents and the gestational carrier has no legal relationship to the child. Our office works mainly with gestational carrier situations where the women carrying the pregnancy does not use her own eggs and has no genetic relation to the child.
Why is an Assisted Reproduction Attorney Required?
Each collaborative pregnancy is unique, based on the genetic relationships to the child, where the intended parents live, and where the transfer took place. Any errors in the legal process can result in a failure to terminate parental rights of the gestational carrier or donors, or in a failure to grant parental rights to the intended parents.
Depending on which party we are representing, we will:
- explain Arizona law and make recommendations for the most legally sound options
- draft egg donation or sperm donation agreements which establish the intended parental rights of the recipients
- draft embryo donation agreements which establish the intended the parental rights of the recipients
- ensure all donors’ parental rights are terminated
- apply for a parentage order from the court at approximately 20 weeks of gestation
- assist with helping the intended parents receive the birth certificate
Can We Just Download a Legal Document Online Instead of Hiring an Attorney?
You can, but we would strongly advise that you use an attorney because:
- Do you know where the document comes from? Do you know who drafted it?
- Do you know which party the drafter favored while drafting the document?
- Does it comply with the laws of the jurisdiction where you are living?
- Does it comply with the laws of the state where the embryo transfer will take place?
- Is the document copyrighted?
As you can see, the legal process of an assisted reproduction should not be taken lightly. Our role as attorneys is to ensure everyone is legally protected throughout this process, and that everyone’s goals are safely achieved.
