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That's a phrase that has a lot of potential meanings to different people. So perhaps it would be best to give you a real life example from a recent case we had where we provided the legal services for another agency. (Quite a few of the larger agencies turn to us for legal help in their surrogacy cases.)
(CLIENT:) “Hi Sara. My agency didn´t coordinate the expedited birth certificate or the necessary travel documents for the baby including the apostille stamp. Where can I have the apostille done in Atlanta and when can I have it done? Could you please let me know?
And one more thing. Could you find out for me if the passport place will be open on 24th December?”
(SARA CLAY:) Although I find it unbelievable, I see these things all of the time!
Yes, I will help them. Yes, the passport office is open on the 24th. I have a contact in Atlanta that can expedite all of these requests. But, I cannot fathom an “agency” that would leave their clients without such knowledge.
Nonetheless, here is what we do for our international couples, gay or not:
We will match you with a gestational carrier (GC) in a surrogacy friendly and gay friendly state. In my opinion, there is no place better suited than Georgia, where I have helped countless gay couples build a family through surrogacy for many years prior to the recent US Supreme Court ruling recognizing same sex marriages.
And we are very selective in the GCs that we approve for our same sex couples. Less than 5% of the applicants to our Surrogacy Program ever make it past the initial application.
We allow the Intended Parents (you) to have a definite say in who you will be matched with. We will provide you with the redacted profiles of the surrogates that we feel would be good possible matches. Some of their personal contact information will be removed at this point to ensure their privacy until chosen. During this initial review, you will have an opportunity to assess a variety of information and characteristics such as family situation, her support system, her history with pregnancy, her insurance options, her employment, etc.
Once you select an ideal match for you, we will set up a phone call, Skype, Oovoo, Facetime, etc. for you to have a “face to face” conference with all parties, including ourselves, to meet and greet one another.
If all parties are happy, we will coordinate the registration of the GC to the medical provider of their choice. If they do not have one, we will happily recommend several top choices with whom we have had outstanding results.
We then will monitor the GCs’ medical protocol as assigned by the medical provider to ensure that she is following it to the letter. Any expenses that are required for medicine and doctors’ visits will be taken care of by us via an escrow account that has been established for you.
Additionally, we will facilitate any necessary psychological appointments to ensure that all parties are on board with any relevant issues.
As you begin making these important decisions about surrogacy and which agency to use, it is so very important that you choose an agency which is run by a reproductive law attorney. That way, the legal fees are included in the agency fee.
Many of our same sex clients have already identified a preferred egg donor or source for your surrogacy. However, if egg donation is needed we can help there as well. For many years we have worked with one of the top private egg donor agencies in the world as a reliable source. We would be happy to make that connection for you so that you can work with them to find the right donor for you.
The importance of having experienced in-house legal representation with expertise in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) law cannot be expressed enough!! While our agency coordinator is handling all of the above referenced matters, our in-house legal team is putting the contract in place between the IPs and the GC.
As an ART attorney and leading industry expert on reproductive law, Sara Clay (TPI's founder) will represent you personally in all legal matters. With over a dozen years of experience in the field of ART and hundreds of successful surrogacy cases, you can be sure that we have seen it all and have time-tested processes in place to make sure your surrogacy experience goes smoothly from start to finish.
In addition, we will ensure that the GC is legally represented by a trusted colleague who will zealously represent the GC without being unnecessarily litigious.
Part of the contract we will have in place will serve as a “Legal Clearance Letter” to be sent to the medical provider. This is a requirement of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (the regulating organization for reproduction) and must be created by an attorney who specializes in this field.
An independent Escrow Agent will be put into place to coordinate all necessary payments to each of the parties throughout the process, and we will continue to keep in touch with all parties from start to finish. Although we recommend our agent as he is an insured, certified agent who is also a reproductive law attorney with his own personal experience, the parties are free to make their own payment arrangements.
Then, the second phase of the legal process occurs (the first being the contract) is the Pre-Birth Order, or “Parental Establishment Phase”. This is where our expertise and many years of experience and contacts really come into play. Because of our longstanding relationships at the state government, we are able to get their compliance within three weeks and I can get a hearing upon request.
In essence, we are able to ensure that our local courthouse will conduct the necessary hearings to rule that the surrogate is not the "legal" mother simply because she is the birth mother. Instead, we are able to get the IPs (you) declared the legal parents of the child long before he/she is born. Because we have brought hundreds of these cases to the same courts, this process generally goes very smoothly with few unexpected surprises.
So, in addition to getting an international gay couple favorably received by the hospital (as we now have a certified court order declaring you as the legal parents and rebutting the legal presumption that the birth mother is the mother) we can also secure a “parent” and “parent” birth certificate (in both of your names) immediately after the birth!
With our connections at the local passport office, we can get the baby’s birth certificate expedited within a matter of days. We can then get an expedited passport with our connections in the visa office.
The last piece to the puzzle is the need for an apostille stamp for those countries involved in the Hague conference (including France). We can obviously handle that for you on an expedited schedule as well.
When working with international matters that are sensitive in both nature and time, we strive to complete the entire process with minimal inconvenience and costs to our prospective parents. We are experienced in obtaining expedited birth certificates, passports, visas and apostille stamps. Upon request, and to further provide a convenience to our parents, we also offer a service that will secure accommodations for our parents for and during their travel.
The state of Georgia welcomes all prospective parents regardless of their sexual preference, financial status or ethnicity. With its excellent medical providers, cutting edge technologies and exceptional hospitals, Georgia is home to some of the most cost effective and professional services involved in alternative family building techniques.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, located approximately 35 miles from our office in Marietta, Georgia, is the most traveled airport in the United States offering a convenient way to travel to a city known for its cultural diversity and ambiance. We welcome all prospective parties to explore their options in the state of Georgia and encourage anyone seeking further information to contact us so we may assist you in your global surrogacy arrangement.
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