Elizabeth has been handling Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) matters for over 20 years. Surrogacy is highly specialized work with which the average family lawyer typically does not have the necessary experience. Elizabeth is an ART Fellow of The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA). Elizabeth has also been a pioneer in surrogacy for gay men all over the world, and is the author of "LGBT Issues in Surrogacy" in the Handbook of Gestational Surrogacy, ed. E. Scott Sills (Cambridge University Press, 2016).
To learn more about the surrogacy process in general, please check out this excellent 2023 article from US News and World Report:
At the beginning of the surrogacy journey, Elizabeth crafts agreements specific to your situation: whether between you and your Egg Donor, Sperm Donor, or Gestational Carrier. Elizabeth regularly drafts and negotiates contracts which detail the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved in these collaborative reproduction arrangements.
Elizabeth has represented Intended Parents, Gestational Carriers, Egg Donors and Sperm Donors. She also can recommend other attorneys with experience in ART law, which will ensure that each party is receiving competent, independent legal advice. It is critical that the legal rights and responsibilities outlined in these contracts are clear, fair and compliant with Florida law.
You can expect to see important matters covered such as provision of health and life insurance, expectations for the pregnancy (including communication), reimbursement of living and medical expenses, lost wages in the event of prescribed bed rest, conditions under which the pregnancy would be terminated, and a multitude of other issues that could arise. Having a thorough agreement at the outset allows the parties to focus less on the transactional nature of the arrangement and more on enjoying the pregnancy journey together.
Elizabeth recommends a gestational surrogacy, where the woman who gives birth to the child is not genetically related. Florida law does allow traditional surrogacy, where the birth mother is also the biological mother, but that route is quite a bit more risky in that she has the right to change her mind within 48 hours post-birth and decide to keep the child. While a gestational surrogacy is more costly, Florida law very clearly defines the child as belonging solely to the Intended Parents and the Gestational Carrier has no parental rights. This is the same for an egg donor or a sperm donor: the donor is a legal stranger to the child produced from their genetic material in Florida.
Once a pregnancy is achieved, Elizabeth will assist the parties with the court proceedings necessary to legally recognize the Intended Parents and terminate any parental rights of the donor or gestational carrier. The firm also handles the administrative processes to amend the birth certificate accordingly and, if necessary, to secure the authentication of those documents for use in foreign jurisdictions.
Whether anonymous or identified, matched independently or through an agency, Elizabeth can help you understand how Florida law applies in your particular situation, and provide the individualized attention and advice you need at this most stress-filled yet exciting moment.
Because it means that lawyer has been vetted not only by her colleagues who practice in this area, but also recommended by judges before whom she has appeared. It means that she has had hundreds of cases over many years in order to even be eligible, and it means she was voted into an Academy of attorneys with the highest degree of ethics and skills in assisted reproduction practice.
