What is a Fertility Lawyer?
- Janene Oleaga, Esq.
- May 20
- 2 min read
A fertility lawyer is a legal professional who specializes in reproductive law, assisting individuals and couples with the legal aspects of building families through assisted reproductive technologies including IVF.

Common Areas of Fertility Law:
Surrogacy Agreements
Drafting and reviewing contracts between intended parents and gestational carriers or gestational surrogates.
Drafting and reviewing contracts between intended parents and traditional surrogates.
Ensuring compliance with state and international laws.
Ensuring all requirements (legal and ethical) are met.
Egg, Sperm, and Embryo Donation
Creating and negotiating donor agreements.
Clarifying rights and responsibilities of donors and recipients.
Establishing who is and who is not a legal parent.
Parentage Orders / Establishing Legal Parenthood
Ensuring intended parents are legally recognized as the parents of the resulting child, especially in cases involving surrogacy or donor conception.
Filing pre-birth or post-birth orders, depending on jurisdiction.
Completing confirmatory adoptions or second parent/step parent adoptions as may be advisable.
Embryo Disposition and IVF Issues
Addressing legal questions around the use, storage, and destruction of frozen embryos, especially in scenarios involving divorce or death.
Ensuring embryos are stored in a preferred jurisdiction or location.
LGBTQ+ Family Building Support
Navigating gamete donation, conception, and legal parentage in for LGBTQ individuals.
International Fertility Law
Assisting with cross-border surrogacy and donor arrangements.
Navigating immigration and citizenship issues for children born abroad via surrogacy.
Insurance Coverage
Purchasing necessary or advisable insurance.
Handling insurance appeals.
Legislative and Patient Advocacy
Advocating on your behalf to change law and policy.
When to Hire a Fertility Lawyer:
You're entering into a surrogacy or donor agreement.
You're creating embryos with a partner or spouse.
You need to secure legal parentage.
You're navigating ART across state or international borders.
You’re LGBTQ+ and need tailored legal protection for your family.
You need assistance navigating insurance matters.
You need assistance reviewing forms with your IVF Clinic.
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