Posts by Marla Neufeld

Welcome to the Sunshine State. We have beaches, the Everglades, 75-degree winters, and… surrogacy. Before diving into a surrogacy journey, it is important to get your feet wet and understand the legal processes involved in your applicable state; in this guide it is the state of Florida. Each state has different laws, or no laws…

Women who choose to become a surrogate come from all walks of life. They may be a stay at home mom, nurse, businesswomen, etc., but some women interested in becoming a surrogate in Florida may be active duty in the military. When being matched with a surrogate, you may wonder if it ok to proceed…

Effective July 1, 2022, pursuant to House Bill 5 titled, the “Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act”, Florida will ban most abortions after 15 gestational weeks. The law previously permitted abortions to occur until 24 gestational weeks. The Florida abortion law does not make any exceptions for cases of incest, rape, or human trafficking. The…

Across the nation there is various case law addressing disputes over embryos in the event of the parties divorce. Some states strictly follow the terms of the parties agreements as to the disposition of the frozen genetic material. Many states have found that embryos should remain frozen until the parties reach a mutual consent as…

Lawyers should not give medical advice. Doctors should not give legal advice. But it can be helpful when each respective professional gives a “heads up” on the relevant legal/medical issues so that the patient/client can seek out professional guidance from a lawyer or doctor, as applicable. For examples, lawyers for many reasons, never should give…

As a Florida surrogacy attorney, I am not going to get into the medical jargon of what a mosaic embryo is, however, as a simplified explanation, a mosaic embryo is one that is genetically tested and the testing shows an abnormal result for the embryo, referred to as “aneuploid”, however such abnormality does not necessarily…

As we all know, COVID has had global impacts which have not spared the surrogacy industry. The decision on whether one should receive a COVID vaccine is personal and everyone has different options on their comfort level with receiving the COVID 19 vaccine. Surrogacy agreements address numerous issues surrounding COVID and the impacts on the…

Since essentially the start of the COVID pandemic, international travel bans have been in place from 33 countries making it challenging for international intended parents from around the world to fly from foreign countries to the United States to be here for the delivery of their baby. Intended parents were many times required to obtain…

I was recently asked the following question by a law student and I wanted to share my general response since it was such a great question! The question presented was, “what are complications/challenges uniquely facing LGBTQ(+) individuals/partners seeking to contract with or act as a surrogate?” In Florida, same sex couples or individuals are able…

My mother was an invaluable resource when I experienced seemingly endless years of infertility and ultimate surrogacy journey. She helped with research, made phone calls, sat with me in doctors’ waiting rooms, and scheduled medical appointments. I knew she would do whatever it took to help me build my family. At one point, my then…