Your American lawyer is one of the most important figures in the journey — the one who drafts the contract with your surrogate, manages the parentage process with the court, and produces the documents you'll need afterwards in your home country. And yet most parents choose one after a single call. Here are the questions that make that call count.
Wait — how many lawyers are there?
More than one, and it's worth knowing the map in advance:
- Your lawyer — represents you, the intended parents: drafts the surrogacy agreement and accompanies you along the way. This one you choose, and this post is about that choice.
- The surrogate's lawyer — her independent counsel at the contract stage, so that her signature is informed and free of conflict. You don't choose this one — but you do pay for it.
- The parentage lawyer — the one who runs the parentage judgment through the court in the birth state (the route I covered in the pre-birth vs post-birth post). Sometimes it's your own lawyer, sometimes local counsel in the surrogate's state — not always the same person.
Now — the questions.
Licensing & states
- Which states are you licensed in? Can you represent us in the state where our surrogate lives and will deliver?
- If we match in a different state — do you work with local counsel there, or would we need to find someone ourselves?
- If we have to rematch with a surrogate in a different state — how would you adapt the contracts if you're not licensed there?
The contract & your representation
- How many surrogacy agreements have you drafted? What issues do you consider most important to nail down in the contract?
- Are you familiar with the legal requirements of our home country, and do they have implications for how the contract is drafted?
- If you hold another citizenship: are you familiar with its requirements? Some countries have specific demands of the contracts.
The legal route
- What route applies in our surrogate's state — a pre-birth or post-birth order? What timeline does that imply?
- Who coordinates with the hospital ahead of the birth, and what exactly is presented to them?
- Does your parentage process include severing the parental rights of the surrogate and her spouse?
Who actually handles us
- Who will work on our case day to day — you, another attorney, or a paralegal? Who do we talk to when we have a question?
- How many international surrogacy cases do you handle a year?
Money
- How is your pricing structured — flat fee, hourly, or a mix? What exactly is included, and what is billed separately?
- What third-party expenses should we expect beyond your fee (court fees, the surrogate's independent counsel)?
- What happens to fees if the match falls through and we start over with a new surrogate?
And to finish — one simple question
What can go wrong on the legal side, and how do you prepare for it in advance?
A good lawyer answers this one calmly and in detail — because they've seen it all. A lawyer who answers "nothing, it's always smooth" is exactly why the question exists.
