Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”
If you are considering donating your eggs, you will want to make sure you speak with a trusted family law attorney before committing to the process. With egg donation compensation averaging $8,000 and reaching upward of $14,000, it can be tempting to sign up to do a good deed while making some extra cash, but you will want to first make sure that both you and the intended parent are clear on each party’s rights over the resulting child. In addition to making sure you have a clear contract in place outlining your rights, you will also want to consult with an attorney to make sure you know exactly what parental rights (if any) are typically granted to you in your jurisdiction in case of any unforeseen conflict.
It is crucial for you to have an egg donor contract in place before agreeing to donate your eggs. This is because courts typically look to the original intent of both parties when determining how to resolve any conflicts that may arise over the course of your egg donation. The easiest way for courts to determine what the original intent of the parties was is to look at the contract that both parties drafted and signed prior to the procedure. As such, you will want to be as clear and detailed as possible about your intentions regarding your involvement with the child once he or she is born in your egg donor contract, and you will want to make sure the intended parent does the same.
Here are three things you can consider including in your egg donor contract:
Reason for Egg Donation. Both parties should include their reasons for participating in the egg donation process to provide additional support for their intentions during this process. Typically, the intended parent’s reason for participating is that she is unable to have children through natural birth, and the egg donor’s reasons are either of a financial or benevolent nature.
No Parent-Child Relationship. This is one of the most important pieces of the contract. You will want to make sure you state clearly that you (and your spouse, if applicable) will not have a parent-child relationship with the resulting child for the entirety of the child’s life.
Payment Terms. Even if you are donating your eggs for purely benevolent reasons, you will still want to make sure you are fairly compensated for your efforts. Medical costs for egg donation procedures can be costly, and you will want to make sure that the intended parent covers all of these costs. Make sure you outline in detail exactly which costs the intended parent will cover and which costs you are expected to pay for out of pocket.
Seeking Out a Trusted Family Law Attorney
You may still have some questions even after drafting your egg donor contract and clearly laying out your intentions. For example, you may be wondering what rights the child has after he or she turns 18 in terms of seeking out their egg donor, or what happens if one party changes their mind midway through the process. At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, our skilled family law attorneys can help answer all of these questions for you and ensure your rights are protected. Get a phone, video or in-person consultation by calling at (704) 370-2828 to speak with our detail-oriented and well-versed lawyers with offices in Charlotte, Lake Norman, and Monroe, please contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC today or find additional resources here.
The family law practice group at Arnold & Smith, PLLC includes two Board-Certified Family Law specialists and one Child Welfare Law specialist, as well as several attorneys with many years of family law experience that are committed to providing a powerful voice to individuals facing the often-tumultuous issues in this area of law. The range of issues our family law clients may be facing include pre- and post-nuptial agreements; separation agreements; post-separation support; child support (both temporary and permanent); absolute divorce; divorce from bed and board; military divorce; equitable distribution of assets; child custody (both temporary and permanent); retirement benefits and divorce; alimony and spousal support; adoption; and emancipation. Because this area of the law is usually emotionally charged and complicated, the family law attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC act with the utmost dedication to ensure that each client understands his or her options, and then act to achieve the best result possible for that client’s particular situation.
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