Should Unmarried Couples Sign An IVF Agreement Before Starting Treatment?
Starting in vitro fertilization is a personal choice that also brings legal responsibilities. Unmarried couples often focus on medical visits, costs, and the hope of having a child, but may overlook what happens if their relationship changes. Separation, disagreements, death, or a change of heart can raise tough questions about frozen embryos, parentage, finances, and future parenting rights. Clinic consent forms usually cover the clinic’s procedures, but may not fully protect either partner in a future legal dispute. That’s why I usually recommend that unmarried couples have a clear IVF agreement in place before fertilizing eggs, creating embryos, or starting treatment.
An IVF agreement cannot cover every possible future event, and it does not take the place of a court’s responsibility to protect a child after birth. Still, it can record each person’s intentions while both partners can make careful decisions. Clear written terms help reduce uncertainty, outline financial responsibilities, and serve as proof of the agreement if a dispute comes up later.
Why Unmarried Couples Face Distinct Legal Risks
Married couples have legal presumptions that can help establish parentage. Unmarried couples do not always get these automatic protections, especially if only one partner will give birth or if donated eggs, sperm, or other assisted-reproduction methods are used. While a biological connection matters, Illinois courts look at more than just biology when deciding legal parentage.
Article 7 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 addresses children conceived through assisted reproduction. Under 750 ILCS 46/703, an individual who consents to assisted reproduction with the intent to become a parent may be recognized as a parent of the resulting child. The statute allows that consent to be shown through a signed record or through an agreement entered before conception establishing that both individuals intended to be parents.
This is why written documentation is especially important for unmarried partners. If intentions are only discussed in person, by text, or left to assumptions, disagreements can happen later about what was actually agreed upon. A formal agreement gives clearer proof than relying on memories from a stressful and emotional time.
An IVF Agreement Can Address Control Of Frozen Embryos
One of the most important subjects in an IVF agreement is the future disposition of frozen embryos. The agreement should address what will happen if the couple separates, one partner dies, one partner becomes incapacitated, or the couple decides not to proceed with implantation. It should also state whether either partner may use the embryos independently or whether mutual written consent will always be required.
Illinois courts have considered disputes between unmarried partners concerning frozen embryos. In Szafranski v. Dunston, 2013 IL App (1st) 122975, the Illinois Appellate Court recognized that an agreement concerning the disposition of embryos may control the dispute. When no enforceable agreement exists, a court may be required to balance the parties’ competing interests.
This case shows why unclear clinic paperwork or casual conversations are not enough. After a breakup, people may remember things differently. One person might want to use the embryos to have a child, while the other may not want to become a parent. A detailed IVF agreement lets both people face these issues before any embryos are created.
Clinic Consent Forms May Not Provide Complete Protection
Fertility clinics typically require patients to sign consent forms covering treatment risks, embryo storage, laboratory procedures, and possible disposition choices. Those forms are important, but their primary purpose is often to explain medical treatment and establish the clinic’s authority and obligations. They may not function as a complete agreement between the partners concerning parentage, future use, financial support, or parenting rights.
I recommend reviewing clinic documents alongside a separate legal agreement. The documents should be consistent with one another and should not contain conflicting instructions. For example, a clinic form should not authorize one disposition after separation while the couple’s independent agreement requires a different result.
Both partners should also understand whether the clinic permits instructions to be changed and what signatures are necessary to revise those instructions. A written agreement is most useful when it clearly addresses the parties’ relationship with each other as well as their instructions to the medical provider.
The Agreement Should Clearly Document Intent To Parent
An unmarried partner who intends to become a legal parent should not rely solely on participation in appointments or payment of treatment expenses. The agreement should clearly state whether each person intends to become a parent of any child conceived through the treatment.
Under 750 ILCS 46/703, consent and intent are central to establishing parentage in assisted-reproduction cases. A signed record before or after birth may establish consent, and a preconception agreement may also demonstrate that the person who gives birth and the intended parent agreed that both would be parents. The statute also permits a parentage proceeding before or after the child’s birth.
Clear language can be particularly important for same-sex couples, couples using donor genetic material, and couples in which one partner has no biological connection to the child. Establishing legal parentage provides rights, but it also creates responsibilities. A legal parent may have obligations involving child support, medical expenses, and other costs even if the romantic relationship later ends.
Financial Obligations Should Be Addressed Before Treatment
IVF treatment can involve substantial expenses, including medication, retrieval procedures, fertilization, genetic testing, embryo storage, implantation, and related medical care. An agreement should identify which partner will pay each category of expense and how costs will be divided if treatment requires multiple cycles.
The agreement should also address storage charges if the relationship ends. Frozen embryos may remain in storage for years, and a dispute may develop if one person stops paying while the other wants continued preservation. The document can establish responsibility for recurring charges, deadlines for decisions, and procedures for resolving payment disagreements.
The parties should understand that an agreement concerning treatment expenses is different from an attempt to waive future child support. Once a child is born, the right to receive support belongs to the child. Parents generally cannot use a private agreement to eliminate a future child’s right to financial support.
An IVF Agreement Cannot Permanently Decide Parenting Time
An IVF agreement may describe the parties’ expectations about raising a future child, but it cannot permanently control parenting time or the allocation of significant decision-making responsibilities. Once a child is born, Illinois courts must decide those issues according to the child’s best interests.
Under 750 ILCS 5/602.7, courts allocate parenting time by considering factors such as each parent’s caretaking history, the child’s needs, the child’s adjustment to home and community, the distance between the parents’ residences, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. The court may consider a prior agreement or course of conduct, but it is not required to enforce a preconception arrangement that no longer serves the child.
Decision-making responsibilities are governed by 750 ILCS 5/602.5. Those responsibilities may include education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. Courts consider the parents’ ability to cooperate, their past participation in important decisions, the child’s needs, and any prior agreement between them. An IVF agreement can document the parties’ original intentions, but the child’s welfare remains controlling.
Separation Before Implantation Creates Different Issues
A breakup before implantation raises different legal questions than a separation after a child is born. Before implantation, the dispute may focus on whether embryos may be used, donated, stored, transferred, or discarded. After birth, the dispute shifts toward legal parentage, child support, parenting time, and decision-making responsibilities.
An agreement should specify whether a separation automatically revokes consent to future implantation or whether previously granted consent remains effective. It should also identify how separation will be defined. Couples may disagree about whether they have permanently ended the relationship or are only living apart temporarily.
The document should establish a clear method for communicating any change of intent. Requiring written notice can prevent arguments about whether consent was withdrawn during a telephone call, text exchange, or emotional disagreement.
Each Partner Should Consider Independent Legal Advice
An agreement is more likely to reflect informed and voluntary decisions when each partner has an opportunity to obtain independent legal advice. One lawyer generally should not advise both individuals when their future reproductive and parental interests may conflict.
Separate representation allows each partner to understand how the agreement could affect the use of embryos, legal parentage, financial obligations, and future litigation. It also reduces the risk that one person will later claim that the document was signed under pressure or without a meaningful understanding of its terms.
The agreement should be completed well before medication, retrieval, or fertilization begins whenever possible. Waiting until treatment is underway can create pressure to sign quickly because medical deadlines are approaching.
Careful Planning Can Prevent Future Family Law Disputes
No couple begins IVF treatment expecting the relationship to end. Still, family circumstances can change in ways that are difficult to predict. A written agreement provides a structured opportunity to make decisions before a crisis occurs.
I view an IVF agreement as both a reproductive planning document and a family law document. It may address embryo control before implantation, evidence of intended parentage, treatment expenses, and procedures for responding to separation or death. It should also recognize that Illinois courts retain authority over parenting time, decision-making responsibilities, and child support after a child is born.
Call Our IVF Attorney For Legal Guidance For Unmarried Couples Considering IVF
IVF treatment can create rights and responsibilities that extend far beyond the medical process. A carefully prepared agreement can address embryo disposition, intended parentage, treatment expenses, storage obligations, separation, death, and other foreseeable events. It can also explain which matters remain subject to Illinois family law after a child is born.
At the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov, I handle family law matters involving divorce, parenting time, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation rights, paternity, and related disputes. I represent either party in contested and negotiated family law proceedings and evaluate each matter based on the client’s circumstances and goals.
Unmarried couples should consider their legal rights before beginning IVF treatment rather than waiting until embryos have been created or a disagreement has developed. Early planning may reduce uncertainty and provide stronger evidence of each person’s intentions.
The Law Office of Fedor Kozlov represents clients in Schaumburg and throughout Chicago, Illinois. To discuss an IVF agreement, parentage concern, parenting-time dispute, divorce, or another Illinois family law matter, call our IVF attorney the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov at (847) 241-1299 to schedule a consultation.
