So, we actually got the first draft of the contract soon after the psych appointment - April 12th. But, it was fully completed until May 2nd. So, I'll condense everything. Just know that it took 3 weeks to get this all done.
As soon as I got the draft of the contract, I printed it out and started looking over it. I brought up my last two contracts and compared them, remembering things that I liked and things I didn't like. I talked to Linnell, though he didn't have an opinion on most of it. But, I discussed the important stuff with him. I came up with what I felt was a fair contract. There were some changes that were non-negotiable (for instance, it said that if we ended up with triplets or more, we would all discuss with the RE what was best to do. No. Three or more get reduced. That's non-negotiable for me, which is why it is so important to talk about these things in the very beginning), but I was willing to compromise on some things. So, I made an annotated copy to send to my lawyer. She was at a conference across the country that week, but I wanted her to have my notes, in case she had some time on the plane, or something. I wanted to get everything done ASAP, because I was expecting my period in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to be able to start the IVF cycle with that period, so we wouldn't have to wait a whole month.
I didn't have many changes in there that hadn't been in my application with the agency, so I didn't expect any problems. I actually sent my annotated copy to Adam & Steve, too (I asked them first if they wanted to see it), so they would know what to expect when my lawyer got back to them. They looked it over and thought it looked fine. There were some legalese things that none of us understood, but that's why we all have lawyers to help us.
A note on lawyers. The IPs need to pay for a surrogate to have a lawyer. Even if you are bestest buds, you need to be represented individually (well, as couples). Even if this is your second time, and you're using the same contract, you still need lawyers. Laws change, situations change, everything needs to be gone over every time. Protect yourself. The surrogates lawyer will be paid for by the IPs, yes, but she represents the surrogate and her partner. It's a big paragraph in the contract about how there is no conflict of interest.
My lawyer didn't get back to the area until the 18th, so we had a phone conference that afternoon. Unfortunately, a calendar screw up with different time zones meant she didn't have time to go over the whole thing with me. So, we went over the rest on the 20th. She sent our draft to Adam & Steve's lawyer. She talked it over with them, she changed some things, we looked over it again, it went back and forth a few times. Mostly just details, nothing big. For instance, she had the name of my OB wrong. No biggie. But, now she and my lawyer were both at another conference, so it took a little while.
We finally got the instructions to sign the signature pages. I also needed to sign the HIIPA agreement and the escrow contract. 4 each of every signature page, and all needed to be notarized. Luckily, Linnell had a day off, so we could go get it done. We signed, we mailed, and we faxed a copy of each to their lawyer. April 24th.
Unfortunately, with all the copies that were flying around, we ended up signing different ones. It was discovered a couple of days later. So, this time, Linnell and I had to reprint the final final final copy, initial every page, fax every page, and mail every page. Plus, the escrow contract had been messed up (which nobody noticed until the escrow company said something), so we had to re-sign and notarize that. Ugh. But, it was finally, finally done. Praise Jebus.
As soon as I got the draft of the contract, I printed it out and started looking over it. I brought up my last two contracts and compared them, remembering things that I liked and things I didn't like. I talked to Linnell, though he didn't have an opinion on most of it. But, I discussed the important stuff with him. I came up with what I felt was a fair contract. There were some changes that were non-negotiable (for instance, it said that if we ended up with triplets or more, we would all discuss with the RE what was best to do. No. Three or more get reduced. That's non-negotiable for me, which is why it is so important to talk about these things in the very beginning), but I was willing to compromise on some things. So, I made an annotated copy to send to my lawyer. She was at a conference across the country that week, but I wanted her to have my notes, in case she had some time on the plane, or something. I wanted to get everything done ASAP, because I was expecting my period in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to be able to start the IVF cycle with that period, so we wouldn't have to wait a whole month.
I didn't have many changes in there that hadn't been in my application with the agency, so I didn't expect any problems. I actually sent my annotated copy to Adam & Steve, too (I asked them first if they wanted to see it), so they would know what to expect when my lawyer got back to them. They looked it over and thought it looked fine. There were some legalese things that none of us understood, but that's why we all have lawyers to help us.
A note on lawyers. The IPs need to pay for a surrogate to have a lawyer. Even if you are bestest buds, you need to be represented individually (well, as couples). Even if this is your second time, and you're using the same contract, you still need lawyers. Laws change, situations change, everything needs to be gone over every time. Protect yourself. The surrogates lawyer will be paid for by the IPs, yes, but she represents the surrogate and her partner. It's a big paragraph in the contract about how there is no conflict of interest.
My lawyer didn't get back to the area until the 18th, so we had a phone conference that afternoon. Unfortunately, a calendar screw up with different time zones meant she didn't have time to go over the whole thing with me. So, we went over the rest on the 20th. She sent our draft to Adam & Steve's lawyer. She talked it over with them, she changed some things, we looked over it again, it went back and forth a few times. Mostly just details, nothing big. For instance, she had the name of my OB wrong. No biggie. But, now she and my lawyer were both at another conference, so it took a little while.
We finally got the instructions to sign the signature pages. I also needed to sign the HIIPA agreement and the escrow contract. 4 each of every signature page, and all needed to be notarized. Luckily, Linnell had a day off, so we could go get it done. We signed, we mailed, and we faxed a copy of each to their lawyer. April 24th.
Unfortunately, with all the copies that were flying around, we ended up signing different ones. It was discovered a couple of days later. So, this time, Linnell and I had to reprint the final final final copy, initial every page, fax every page, and mail every page. Plus, the escrow contract had been messed up (which nobody noticed until the escrow company said something), so we had to re-sign and notarize that. Ugh. But, it was finally, finally done. Praise Jebus.
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