Choosing to grow your family through surrogacy is a big and emotional step. If not handled correctly, it could also pose many risks and may not go as planned. No matter which side of the process you’re on, you should understand your rights and obligations under New Jersey law.

The Kingston Law Group helps New Jersey residents understand their rights before, during, and after a surrogacy journey. If you’re considering getting involved in a surrogate child arrangement and have legal questions, or are involved in one and facing legal issues, call us at 609-683-7400.

What Is Gestational Surrogacy?

Gestational surrogacy involves a woman being pregnant with a baby who is not genetically related to her. The ovum (or egg) and sperm used to fertilize it and create what later becomes the fetus come from the intended parent or a donor, not from the carrier. This is different from traditional surrogacy, where the woman carries a baby developed from her own egg. New Jersey law treats the two types of surrogacy very differently.

What are New Jersey’s Rules for Child Surrogacy Contracts?

The legislature passed the state’s Gestational Carrier Agreement Act in 2018. This law allows courts to enforce a written surrogacy contract, but only under certain circumstances:

• The agreement for the carrier to give up any rights must be in writing and signed before the embryo transfer into the surrogate mother begins
• The intended parents assume responsibility for the expected child upon their birth
• The carrier and the intended parents must have their own lawyer
• The carrier must pass medical and mental health exams
• The intended parents must have a psychological evaluation
• The carrier must be at least 21 years old and have had a child in the past
• If the carrier has a spouse or partner, that person must also sign the agreement
• Parents can pay the gestational carrier’s “reasonable expenses,” which includes medical care, attorney’s fees, living expenses including food, clothing, shelter, and counseling services during the pregnancy and afterward

Carriers can be compensated for their pregnancy beyond having their expenses paid.

A 1988 case set the legal wheels in motion and led to the passage of this law twenty years later. The state’s law covers gestational surrogacy, where the carrier has no genetic tie to the baby. If the carrier also donates the ovum, courts will look back to the 1988 case of the Matter of Baby M.

In that case, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a birth mother could not be forced to relinquish her parental rights through a contract signed before birth. As a result, a carrier genetically related to the baby she carries can change her mind, even after signing purported contracts.

Are There Issues with Child Surrogacy Across State or National Borders?

Surrogacy laws are not the same everywhere. A contract that’s enforceable in New Jersey may not be in another state or country. Parents who work with a carrier outside New Jersey should get competent legal advice in every jurisdiction involved. A foreign country’s laws may make surrogacy plans illegal or more difficult than it would be in the US.

Families who use a carrier in another country face extra risks. A baby born abroad does not automatically become a US citizen unless the baby has a genetic tie to a US citizen parent. This can lead to long delays before a family can bring their baby home.

A Recent Case Shows What Can Go Wrong

A recent news story shows what can happen when surrogacy plans go to the extreme. A Chinese couple living in California, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang, were raising twenty-one children born through surrogacy in their home in 2025.

Police removed all of them in the summer of that year after a two-month-old was hospitalized with injuries doctors reported as consistent with physical abuse. Over the following months, five more babies in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia were born through surrogacy. Each of those states also took the newborns into custody.

The couple then sued some of the carriers, seeking custody of the babies and money damages for what they claimed were broken contracts. Several carriers said they had been wrongly told the couple only wanted one more child, not dozens, and they refused to hand over the newborns.

Federal agents are investigating the case to see if federal laws, including those against human trafficking, were violated.

The Legal Issues This Case Raises

This situation is far from ordinary, but it points to legal problems that can affect any family considering child surrogacy:

• Honesty matters. A carrier who is misled about a family’s true plans may have grounds to challenge the contract. Child welfare workers may take the baby into custody
• Every state sets its own surrogacy rules, so working with carriers in several states makes what can be a complex situation more complicated
• Courts and child welfare agencies can remove a child from a home no matter what a private contract says, if they have evidence a child is in danger
• Screening steps, like those required under New Jersey law, can protect carriers, parents, and children. They help confirm that everyone involved is honest and ready for this responsibility

Kingston Law Group Will Help

Child surrogacy law touches on contracts, parentage, custody, and sometimes even criminal matters. Whether you are a hopeful parent or carrier wanting to draft a gestational carrier agreement, or you’re either party and the situation isn’t going as planned, Kingston Law Group can guide you through New Jersey law with information, advice, and legal representation.

For help with gestational surrogacy decisions or disputes, call us at 609-683-7400 to set up a reduced-fee initial consultation. We will listen to your facts, discuss the law, and advise you of your options. We accept credit cards and offer appointments from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. We also offer prearranged evening appointments. Contact us today. You will be glad you did!!