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What to include in an IVF consent agreement

A relaxed illustrated man with dark curly hair calmly reading a legal document, representing informed consent and legal review for IVF, donor, and fertility agreements in BC.

When you are in the middle of an IVF process, the consent forms your fertility clinic puts in front of you can feel like routine boring paperwork. You are focused on the treatment. You are managing appointments, hormones, hope, and anxiety. Signing documents is the administrative part, the thing you get through so you can get on with what matters.

Here is what we want you to know: your IVF consent agreement is not just paperwork. It is one of the most legally consequential documents you will ever sign. What it says, and what it does not say, can have enormous implications if your relationship changes, if you or your partner becomes incapacitated, or if you disagree later about what should happen to your stored embryos.

Clinic consent forms vary enormously in quality. Some are thorough. Many are templated, generic, and written primarily to protect the clinic rather than to clearly document the intentions and rights of the people undergoing treatment. Understanding what a good consent agreement covers, and where the gaps often are, puts you in a much better position before you sign anything.

What an IVF consent agreement actually is

An IVF consent agreement is a legal document between you, your partner (if applicable), and the fertility clinic. It records your informed consent to the treatment itself and, critically, your instructions about what should happen to any embryos created during the process.

The Assisted Human Reproduction Act, the federal legislation governing fertility treatment in Canada, requires that clinics obtain written consent before using, storing, or disposing of human reproductive material. That consent must be informed, and it must be documented.

But the federal legislation sets a floor, not a ceiling. It tells clinics they must get consent. It does not tell them exactly what that consent needs to address or how detailed it needs to be. That variation is where problems can arise.

The consent agreement you sign is also the document that courts rely on when disputes arise between former partners about stored embryos. If the agreement is vague, templated, or silent on key scenarios, that silence can become a legal problem at the worst possible time. Our related article on who owns embryos after separation in BC explains why this matters so much.

The core elements every IVF consent agreement should cover

Whimsical illustration of a signed document with cartoon eyes and a fountain pen beside it, set against a bold orange background, representing a legal agreement.

Consent to the treatment itself

This is the most basic layer. Both parties should clearly consent to the specific procedures being undertaken, with an accurate description of what those procedures involve, the known risks, and any alternatives. This section is usually well covered in clinic forms because it is the most legally standard part.

Ownership and control of stored embryos

This is where most clinic forms become inadequate. The agreement should clearly state who has decision-making authority over stored embryos and under what circumstances. If both parties created the embryos together, both should be required to consent before any action is taken with them.

The agreement should also specify what happens in scenarios where one party becomes unreachable or unresponsive. What is the process? What timeframes apply? What authority does the clinic have to act in the absence of instructions?

Disposition instructions: the scenarios that matter most

This is the section that will determine what happens to your embryos in every significant life scenario. A thorough consent agreement addresses each of the following:

  • If both parties agree to use the embryos for treatment. This is the intended scenario, but it still needs to be documented.
  • If the relationship ends. What happens to stored embryos if you and your partner separate or divorce? Can either party use them independently? Must they be destroyed? Can they be donated? This is the scenario most clinic forms handle poorly or not at all.
  • If one party dies. Can the surviving partner use the embryos? Is there a time limit? What if the deceased party left instructions in their will that conflict with the clinic agreement?
  • If one party becomes incapacitated. Who can make decisions if one person is unable to consent due to illness, injury, or cognitive incapacity?
  • If both parties die or both become incapacitated. What instructions govern in that scenario?
  • If the parties stop responding or paying storage fees. What does the clinic do if it cannot reach either party? After what period of time? What notice is required?

Each of these scenarios should have a clear, written instruction. Vague language like "to be determined by mutual agreement" is not adequate for a legal document that may need to be acted on years later when circumstances have changed dramatically.

Storage terms and duration

The agreement should specify how long embryos will be stored, what the storage fees are and how they are reviewed over time, and what process the clinic will follow if fees go unpaid or contact is lost. Embryos can remain in storage for many years. The agreement needs to contemplate that reality.

Consent to use for research or donation

Some people are willing to donate unused embryos to other recipients or to medical research if their own treatment is complete. Others are not. This decision needs to be clearly documented. There is no right or wrong answer, but silence on the question creates uncertainty.

If donation is something you are open to, the agreement should specify under what conditions and with what restrictions. If it is not something you want, that too should be explicit.

The right to withdraw or amend consent

Both parties should understand and agree on the process for withdrawing or changing their consent. Under what circumstances can consent be revoked? What notice is required? What happens to the embryos if one party withdraws consent and the other does not?

This is one of the most important clauses in the agreement and one of the most frequently contested. The ability to withdraw consent is legally protected in Canada. But the process for doing so, and the consequences for stored embryos when it happens, should be documented clearly at the outset.

What clinic forms often miss

In our experience, clinic consent forms tend to be reasonably good at documenting consent to treatment and basic storage terms. Where they fall short is in the contingency planning, specifically the scenarios that were not front of mind when you were focused on getting pregnant.

Relationship breakdown

  • Many clinic consent forms have no specific provision for what happens to embryos if the relationship ends. Some have a checkbox that says something like "to be agreed upon by both parties" without specifying what happens if that agreement cannot be reached. This is not adequate. If you are going through IVF as a couple, your consent agreement should explicitly address relationship breakdown, including what process applies if you cannot agree.

Future partners

  • If a relationship ends and one party later forms a new relationship, can that person use the embryos with a new partner? Almost certainly not without the original contributor's consent, but this should be addressed explicitly. Silence creates ambiguity.

Changing your mind

  • People's wishes about reproductive material can change significantly over time. The agreement should contemplate the possibility that one or both parties will want to amend their instructions, and should set out a clear process for doing so that protects both parties.

International or interprovincial considerations

  • If you or your partner move provinces or countries after the embryos are created, which legal framework applies? This is rarely addressed in clinic forms and can become relevant if a dispute arises.

Should you get independent legal advice before signing

Yes. We want to be direct about this.

Clinic consent forms are prepared by the clinic, often with the clinic's interests as the primary consideration. That does not necessarily make them bad documents, but it does mean they are not necessarily written with your interests, or the legal complexity of your situation, as the central concern.

Getting independent legal advice before signing gives you the opportunity to understand what you are really agreeing to. Your lawyer will help identify any gaps or ambiguities in the clinic's form, and help you consider whether additional documentation (such as a separate written agreement between partners) would protect you better.

This is particularly important if you and your partner have different views on any of the contingency scenarios. Better to surface those differences now, when you can address them calmly and in writing, than to discover them in the middle of a separation.

A separate written agreement between partners, drafted with legal advice, can address scenarios the clinic form does not cover and provide clearer documentation of both parties' intentions. It does not replace the clinic consent agreement but it can strengthen it considerably. If you would like to understand what that might look like for your situation, an initial consultation with a lawyer is a great place to start.

If you have already signed a clinic consent agreement

If you have already signed a clinic consent agreement and you are now reviewing it with fresh eyes, the most important thing is to understand what it actually says.

Pull out the document and read it carefully. Pay particular attention to the sections on relationship breakdown, death, and withdrawal of consent. If any of those sections are missing, vague, or say something you did not intend, there are things you can do:

  • Ask the clinic whether you can amend the consent agreement. Many clinics will allow this. The process for amendment should itself be documented in writing and signed by both parties. The best time to ask for an amendment is prior to needing one.
  • Consider a separate written agreement between you and your partner. This document can address the gaps in the clinic form, provide clearer mutual instructions, and give both parties better legal protection.
  • Get legal advice on what your existing agreement really means. If the language is ambiguous, a lawyer can help you understand how it is likely to be interpreted and whether the ambiguity creates risk.

If you are already in a dispute about stored embryos from a previous relationship, please see our companion article on who owns embryos after separation in BC for a fuller picture of how those disputes are approached legally. 

A checklist for reviewing your IVF consent agreement

Before you sign, or when reviewing an existing agreement, use this as a starting point:

  • Does the agreement clearly identify all parties and their roles?
  • Does it describe the specific procedures being consented to?
  • Does it address what happens to stored embryos if the relationship ends?
  • Does it address what happens if one party dies?
  • Does it address what happens if one party becomes incapacitated?
  • Does it address donation to other recipients, donation to research, or destruction of unused embryos?
  • Does it specify how long embryos will be stored and under what fee structure?
  • Does it explain what happens if fees go unpaid or contact is lost?
  • Does it describe the process for withdrawing or amending consent?
  • Does it address what happens if the parties cannot agree on a course of action?
  • Is the language specific enough to be acted on without further negotiation?
  • Have both parties received independent legal advice before signing?

Not every agreement will tick every box, and not every clinic will accommodate every request. But going in informed means you can ask the right questions and make deliberate choices rather than signing what is in front of you and hoping for the best.

Ask Journey – IVF Consent Agreements FAQ
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Frequently Asked Questions

Real questions. Straight answers. No legal jargon required.

It meets the minimum requirements under the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act, which requires written, informed consent before treatment. Whether it is legally sufficient for your situation is a different question. Many clinic forms are generic, templated, or silent on key scenarios like relationship breakdown.

Sufficient for the clinic is not the same as sufficient for you. Reading it carefully and getting independent legal advice before signing is the only way to know whether it actually reflects what you want.

Yes, where both parties are contributing genetic material or where both are identified as the parties undertaking treatment together. The consent must be individual: each person signs for their own reproductive material and their own intentions.

Consent cannot be given on behalf of someone else, and a signature by one partner does not bind the other.

You cannot replace the clinic's consent form, because the clinic has its own legal obligations to document consent in the way it is legally required to. But you can supplement the clinic form with a separate written agreement between you and your partner that addresses scenarios the clinic form does not cover.

That supplementary agreement, drafted with legal advice, can provide significantly clearer documentation of your mutual intentions and give you much better protection if a dispute arises.

That disagreement needs to surface now, before the embryos are created. It is uncomfortable, but it is far less painful to work through it in advance than to discover fundamental incompatibility in the middle of a separation.

A lawyer can help you structure a conversation about the contingencies and document what you agree on. If you genuinely cannot reach agreement on what should happen in the event of separation, that is important information before you proceed.

Yes, in most cases. Most clinics have a process for amending consent documentation. Any amendment should be in writing, signed by both parties, and retained by the clinic.

The more significant question is what happens when one party wants to amend their instructions and the other does not agree. That is where the original agreement's language about withdrawal of consent and dispute resolution becomes critical. If your existing agreement does not address this clearly, a lawyer can help you understand your options.

Some of them, yes. If you are using donor genetic material, the consent framework still applies to how the embryos can be used, stored, and disposed of. The relationship breakdown scenarios are less relevant, but the questions about death, incapacity, donation, and changing your mind over time are still worth addressing clearly.

Because we see what happens when they are not done well. Disputes over stored embryos after separation are among the most painful and legally complicated matters in family law. The consent agreement signed years earlier, often treated as a formality at the time, can become a central issue in a family law proceeding.

We work with people at both ends of that situation: those planning their fertility treatment and those navigating a separation where embryos are part of what needs to be resolved. Getting the agreement right at the beginning is almost always better than trying to repair the damage afterward.



This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Family law is fact-specific and the law changes. Reading this does not create a lawyer-client relationship with Pathway Legal. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified BC family law lawyer.