See How Surrogacy Choices Can Match You With the Perfect Surrogate
Intended Parents
Surrogacy Choices works with individuals and families who need the help of a surrogate and/or egg donor to achieve a pregnancy. We accept clients regardless of their race, age, gender, marital status or sexual orientation.
We are not associated with any one IVF clinic or physician, increasing our ability to meet the needs of our Clients. The Owner of Surrogacy Choices and the Agency Attorney are both Fellows with the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys and they have a tremendous number of contacts across the United States and Internationally. You will be asked to choose the professionals involved with the surrogacy process, including an IVF clinic, attorney to represent your interests and more. However, we will assist you in that process giving you access to our vast experience and contacts. As an agent on your behalf, Surrogacy Choices will act as a liaison between the intended parents, the gestational surrogates and the professionals on your team. “Agency” is a term that refers to the legal relationship whereby an agent is authorized to represent a principal in dealings with third parties. We are the “agent” and the intended parents are the “principal”. The gestational surrogate is a “third party” and not our client. Surrogacy Choices has its own attorney and requires that the intended parents and the surrogate/gestational carrier each have separate counsel from the Agency.
The following are the tasks that Surrogacy Choices will coordinate on your behalf:
- Matching: Surrogacy Choices maintains a database of potential surrogates and egg donors that meet specific minimum standards set by Surrogacy Choices. We have an extensive list of qualifications which must be met. The potential gestational surrogates are asked to fill out an extensive profile and they are asked to include photos. The gestational surrogates will remain anonymous to the intended parents until a match is made.
- Screening:Surrogacy choices recommends that a gestational carrier receive full physical, psychological and infectious screening along with a background check, fingerprinting or abuse and neglect records and a credit check. The gestational surrogates in our data base may have all or part of the screening complete at the time of matching. It is our goal to have all of the screening performed prior to the match but due to the nature of this business the turnover is fast and Surrogacy Choices may not have time to complete screening prior to your desire to be matched with the gestational carrier. Most physicians require a psychological screening to ensure a gestational surrogate understands the process and are mentally able to proceed.
- Home Visit:It is the desire of Surrogacy Choices to conduct a home study when feasible on a gestational surrogate. Our team members come from an extensive history of adoption work and home studies. Home studies are not completed during this process. However, we believe that the information that can be gleaned from a visit to a potential gestational carrier’s home is valuable.
Screening of Intended Parents: We believe at Surrogacy Choices that it is just as important for the gestational carrier to have detailed information on the intended parents as it is for the intended parents to have detailed information on the carrier. Thus, we perform screenings on the intended parents including a detailed application process, credit check, background check and fingerprinting for abuse and neglect.
- Negotiation of Fees:Once intended parents are part of our program they will receive a great deal of information from us. They will receive a document that details for them the costs expected to be incurred in the process. All fees to be paid to the gestational carrier are negotiable. We will coordinate between the intended parents and the gestational surrogate as to what the fees will be. Utilizing our services for this process will minimize the attorneys fees for everyone as the terms will already be negotiated, allowing the attorneys to concentrate on the legal needs of the parties and the contract versus minor details such as how much money is needed for maternity clothing.
- Trust Fund Management: Surrogacy Choices will set up a trust fund with a third party company to hold and distribute funds throughout the life of the surrogacy contract. Intended parents will be asked to place funds in the trust account in the early stages to cover the reimbursement costs to Surrogacy Choices for screenings to date and the legal fees needed to retain a separate attorney for the gestational surrogate and another for the intended parents. The balance of the funds due will be determined by the legal contract between the gestational surrogate and the intended parents. Gestational surrogates are typically paid on a monthly basis. Surrogacy Choices will assure that check requests are timely made to the trust company for distributions and they will monitor receipts received by the carrier and whether reimbursement is proper.
- Legal Contract: Once a match is made, the screenings are complete, negotiations on fees are complete and a trust fund have been developed, the parties will go to their respective attorneys for the drafting of the contract. Surrogacy Choices will communicate with those attorneys the fees that were negotiated for inclusion in the contract. The Intended Parents’ attorney will be the drafting attorney and the gestational surrogate’s attorney will be the reviewing attorney. The legal contract phase is important and should not be taken lightly. The Attorney for Surrogacy Choices is not involved in this process but for answering questions on behalf of the agency itself and the scope of services the agency is willing to provide. Surrogacy Choices will not allow medications to begin with an IVF physician until the contract is executed by both the Intended Parents and the Gestational Surrogate. Surrogacy Choices requires the attorneys to each provide a clearance letter that confirms a contract is signed and medications may begin.
- Coordinating the Pregnancy: Surrogacy Choices will assist in setting medical appointments and monitoring the progress of the pregnancy through the terms of the legal contract.
- Hospital Management: Surrogacy Choices will assist with communications with the Hospital to minimize the risk of stress for the intended parents during the birth of their child.
- Designated Surrogacy: If you have already located your gestational surrogate and need assistance navigating the surrogacy process, Surrogacy Choices can help. We can act as your liaison and provide services to you and your surrogate, including screening, home visit, negotiation of fees, trust fund management, legal contract, coordinating the pregnancy and hospital management. We will be there with you every step of the way and handle the details so you can focus on what is important: parenthood.Please contact our office either by phone or email to let us know if you are interested in engaging our services and would like information about our gestational surrogacy and egg donation programs. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
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