Helping Expand Families
If a same-sex couple wants to have children but is not interested in adoption, or if a straight couple is unable to have children on their own, or if a single parent wants to have children, surrogacy or other means of assisted reproductive technology (ART) can be excellent options.
At Moore & Hunt we assist many couples who are working with agencies who match intended parents, gestational carriers, and genetic material donors. We also help individuals that already have egg or sperm donors available or gestational carriers lined up to put all of the correct documents in place to ensure that the intentions of all of the parties are clear and meet the legal requirements of each party.
The legal proceedings to establish parentage through the use of ART will vary depending on the ART technique. Women who are using donor sperm may be trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI). Their legal requirements will be vastly different than intended parents who have chosen surrogacy to create a family. Moore & Hunt can take the confusion out of your parentage journey.
A woman who has a child after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) is usually also the legal parent of that child and may not need to do anything further to establish parentage. However, other intended parents may need to complete a termination of parental rights and a full-blown adoption, depending on the ART used. Moore & Hunt will advise you on your options for protecting yourself and your family.
The first step toward that goal is the contract phase, where the documents are put into place that establish the terms of the agreements among intended parents, gestational carriers, and egg or sperm donors. With our years of experience in helping couples with surrogacy and assisted reproduction, we know what legal requirements need to be met in the contracts in order to withstand legal scrutiny and to have a gestational agreement validated and enforced by a Texas court.
The second step of the legal process is usually a court proceeding. At the appropriate time, we assist the intended parent or parents using surrogacy with the court validation process to obtain a prebirth order confirming that the intended parent is the legal parent of the child and that the gestational carrier is not. Other times we help after the birth establishing parentage in other ways, including using adoption.
Ms. Moore is on the Legal Advisory Council of the American Fertility Association. She is also Of Counsel for both the Reproductive Law Center, Inc. and the International Fertility Law Group. Contact Moore & Hunt to learn more about surrogacy options. Call 713-522-4282 or e-mail us.
Texas Attorneys for Surrogacy and Alternative Reproduction
Our seasoned attorneys can help with:
• Gestational surrogacy
• Traditional surrogacy
• Donor insemination
• Egg donation
• Embryo donation
• Rights of maternity
• Rights of paternity
As advocates for same-sex couples and with all of our expertise in helping all persons who want to use assisted reproduction to help form their families, we consider it an honor to perform this service for our community.
Call us at 713-522-4282 or send us an e-mail to schedule your appointment today.
