Practice area · California
Donor agreements
Known donor, co-parenting and embryo agreements, written before anyone gets pregnant.
For intended parents working with a known egg or sperm donor, donors themselves, and adults planning to co-parent.
Book a consultation Free 20-minute call to startExample fee: $1,500 to $3,000 (flat fee per side, example range). What's included
In plain words
Many families build with a known donor: a friend, a relative or someone met through a community group. A written agreement, signed before conception, sets out who is a parent and who is not.
Each side has its own lawyer. The agreement covers parentage, contact, future medical questions and what the child will be told, in words everyone understands.
How conception happens can matter too. In California, using a licensed clinic or physician can change the legal result for a sperm donor. We explain this on the first call, before it is too late to plan for it.
Situations we help with
- Known sperm donors
- Known egg donors
- Embryo donation and disposition
- Co-parenting agreements
- Three adults planning to parent
- Donors who will stay in the child's life
- Medical records and future contact
- Updating an agreement after a birth
Step by step
How it usually goes
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1
A free 20-minute call
We talk about who is involved, what everyone hopes for, and how and where conception will happen.
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2
Separate lawyers
We represent one side. We suggest independent lawyers for the other, and we never represent both.
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3
Drafting together
Plain words about parentage, contact, records and what happens if life changes. Everyone reads it before anyone signs.
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4
Signed before conception
Then we plan the next step, often a parentage judgment or a second-parent adoption after the birth.
No lawyer can promise an outcome or a date. Courts, agencies, clinics and other states all move at their own pace. We tell you what we know, when we know it. Things that often change the pace:
- The court's calendar
- Home study scheduling
- Another state's approval
- A party who is hard to reach
- Medical timing
- Records from a clinic or agency
- Another country's paperwork
Example fee
$1,500 to $3,000
Flat fee per side, example range. Embryo agreements and three-parent plans usually sit near the high end.
Included
- A planning conversation
- Drafting or review
- Working with the other side's lawyer
- Signing
Paid separately
- The other side's lawyer
- Clinic fees
- A later parentage judgment or adoption
Your exact fee is in your plan letter before you sign. Payment plans are available. All fees
Rules differ by place
Donor rules differ widely. In some states a known donor can be treated as a legal parent unless certain steps are followed. If conception or birth will happen outside California, tell us early.
We practice California law, and bring in licensed local counsel when another state or country is involved.
We never match or broker
We do not match families with children, birth parents, surrogates or donors, and we never arrange or pay for a placement. Licensed agencies and clinics do matching. We handle the law.
General information
This website is general information, not legal advice. Reading it, calling us or sending a form does not make Kith & Kin your lawyer. That happens only when we both sign an engagement letter.
Questions about donor agreements
Does a donor agreement make us legal parents?
It is strong evidence of everyone's intent, but it is not a court order. Many families follow it with a parentage judgment or an adoption.
Our donor is a close friend. Do they really need their own lawyer?
Yes. Separate lawyers protect everyone, including the friendship, and make the agreement much harder to challenge later.
We are already pregnant. Is it too late?
Not always. The options change after conception, so call us soon and we will talk them through.
Other paths families take
Free 20-minute call
Talk with us before conception.
A free 20-minute call with an attorney who does this work every week. You will hear which steps apply to you, what California asks for, and what an example fee of $1,500 to $3,000 would cover.
Prefer to text? (510) 555-0163. Dee replies within one business day.