New Jersey Statutes 9:17-65. Requirements for a gestational carrier agreement
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 9:17-65
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
a. A gestational carrier agreement shall satisfy the following requirements:
(1) It is in writing and executed by the gestational carrier, her spouse or partner in a civil union or domestic partnership, if any, and each intended parent. If the intended parent is married or in a domestic partnership or civil union at the time the intended parent enters the agreement, both spouses or partners shall meet the requirements of subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.2018, c.18 (C. 9:17-64) and shall be required to enter into the agreement as intended parents. If the intended parent is not married or in a civil union or domestic partnership, no other person shall be deemed a legal parent of the child unless that person meets the requirements of subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.2018, c.18 (C. 9:17-64) and duly executes the agreement;
(2) It is executed after the required medical and psychological screenings of the gestational carrier and the psychological screening of the intended parent, but prior to the commencement of any other necessary medical procedures in furtherance of the implantation of the pre-embryo; and
(3) The gestational carrier and her spouse or partner, if any, and the intended parent shall have been represented by separate attorneys in all matters relating to the gestational carrier agreement and each attorney provides an affidavit of such representation.
b. A gestational carrier agreement shall provide:
(1) Express terms that the gestational carrier shall:
(a) Undergo pre-embryo transfer and attempt to carry and give birth to the child;
(b) Surrender custody of the child to the intended parent immediately upon the child’s birth; and
(c) Have the right to medical care for the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery provided by a physician, physician assistant, advance practice nurse, or certified nurse midwife of her choice, after she notifies, in writing, the intended parent of her choice;
(2) An express term that, if the gestational carrier is married or in a civil union or domestic partnership, the spouse or partner agrees to the obligations imposed on the gestational carrier pursuant to the terms of the gestational carrier agreement and to surrender custody of the child to the intended parent immediately upon the child’s birth; and
(3) Express terms that the intended parent shall:
(a) Accept custody of the child immediately upon the child’s birth; and
(b) Assume sole responsibility for the support of the child immediately upon the child’s birth.
c. A gestational carrier agreement shall be presumed enforceable if:
(1) It satisfies the contractual requirements set forth in subsection a. of this section; and
(2) It contains at a minimum each of the terms set forth in subsection b. of this section.
In addition, an enforceable gestational carrier agreement shall include a provision setting forth the financial responsibilities of the parties and shall include a provision that the intended parent shall pay the gestational carrier’s reasonable expenses, as defined herein, unless expressly waived, in whole or in part, in writing by the gestational carrier.
d. In the event that any of the requirements of this section are not met, a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine parentage based on the parties’ intent.
L.2018, c.18, s.6.