New Jersey is a leader in enforceable gestational carrier agreements with the passage of the New Jersey Gestational Carrier Act on 2018. Deb Guston was one of the authors of the law and testified many times before the New Jersey Legislature to urge its passage. The law makes contracts valid if they follow some very simple rules:

• All parties to the contract must have their own attorneys
• The gestational carrier must be over 21 and must have had at least one prior pregnancy
• The parties all must have counseling to assist them in understanding the unique
  arrangement into which they are entering
• The carrier may receive reasonable reimbursement for her living expenses, legal fees, medical expenses and other pregnancy related expenses
• The intended parents must file a pre-birth action to confirm their parentage

If these rules are followed, the contract will be enforced and the intended parents will be recognized as the parents of the child and the carrier will not have any parental obligation to the child. It is important to make sure that the Intended Parents are carefully interviewed and that all funds that will be paid to you to reimburse your living, medical and living expenses will be placed in a reliable escrow account to protect the funds and make sure you are paid on time.

Surrogacy agreements are complicated arrangements and the rights of all parties must be respected. Guston & Guston can assist you in understanding your rights as a Gestational Carrier on your journey to assist intended parents on their journey to parenthood through surrogacy.