Yes. A Perfect Match is not a legal firm and legal services and contracts must be provided by attorneys who have experience in reproductive law. Separate representation is required for intended parents and surrogate. We do not hire the attorneys on your behalf; however, we are able to give you recommendations of attorneys we work with for contracts. Some terms in the contract are: financial terms, parental rights, conduct of surrogate, her responsibilities for communication to you and yours to her, ownership of embryos, timing of cycle, prenatal testing, reduction, termination, and birth.
As part of our matching services we provide intended parents and surrogate with a ‘Surrogate Benefits Package’ that outlines the financial benefits and costs for a surrogacy cycle with that specific surrogate. This is done so you and the surrogate already understand the financial terms before you begin negotiations on all the other terms. Each party is required to sign this Benefits Package when they agree to work together for a surrogacy cycle and they agree to keep the financial terms the same in the legal contract. This document is provided by APM to the intended parent’s attorney and to the surrogate’s attorney and the terms will be incorporated in the contract between intended parent and surrogate. This process takes approximately two weeks and can overlap the medical screening by the IVF center.