So…you’ve decided to jump into the complicated world of independent surrogacy. You’ve probably been weighing your surrogacy options and made the choice to not only save a significant amount of money, but also to have a little more control with your experience. 

While these are both great reasons to take this route, it can be a little overwhelming to manage all the various details and keep track of every single aspect. Let’s explore the resources and strategies available to help you navigate an independent journey successfully.

Building Your Surrogacy Dream Team

Now that you have chosen to go through surrogacy without an agency, it’s time to put together a team of professionals to assist you throughout the surrogacy process. Depending on your connections and what you already have in place, you may still need to decide on a surrogacy lawyer, fertility clinic, your preferred medical professionals, and/or any additional support networks.

If you’re able to get any recommendations by word of mouth from other former Intended Parents who have already completed the surrogacy process this is a great place to begin your search! If not, there are still many online resources and surrogacy groups that can help you as well.

Pro-Tip 🔥: Once you are established with a fertility clinic, they usually have a resource list with professionals that they frequently work with.

Finding a Surrogacy Lawyer

If you were wondering about the legal process of surrogacy…Yes! You’ll need a lawyer (even if the surrogate is a family member or friend). And so will your surrogate. It’s important that both parties involved have separate legal representation during this complex process to protect themselves from any disputes that might come up. Your surrogacy lawyer will handle much of the paperwork, help explain complex legal jargon so you understand what’s going on, as well as create Pre and Post Parenting Orders (this varies depending on the state) for your case.

Finding your surrogacy lawyer can be as simple as asking around to parents who have already gone through the full process for a recommendation, or digging deeper online and seeing which lawyers agencies are working with. Be sure that the lawyer you select is transparent about their fees when it comes to the many nuances of the surrogacy agreement, as rates can vary between states and other factors as well.

Pro Tip 🔥: Look for attorneys who specialize in family-formation and assistive reproductive technology (ART). One way to do this is by searching for an attorney affiliated with the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction.

Selecting a Fertility Clinic

When choosing the clinic you want to work with, consider the services they provide, the location, cost, staff, patient reviews, and their reputation. Teaming up with a clinic and specialists that are on the same page as you can ultimately lead to a much more comfortable experience overall for both the surrogate and Intended Parents combined. 

Pro Tip 🔥: Ask them for their GC Requirements List - this will help you identify their surrogate requirements early on to determine whether your prospective surrogate will pass their initial screenings when they review her medical records.

Choosing a Surrogate

Another incredibly important piece of the puzzle that you must also consider is choosing your gestational carrier. If you are still an Intended Parent looking for a surrogate, you’ll want to start your search right away. There are many ways to go about this, including searching on social media in surrogacy groups, or even asking a family member or a friend. 

One other thing to keep in mind: you’ll want to consider what qualities you want your surrogate to have, and what is most important to you…these characteristics can act as a guide as you conduct your interviews and screenings. Also, keep in mind the type of relationship you'd like to have with your surrogate and your communication style (so much to say on this, and we'll save more details for a future blog post)!

Before making any final decisions, you’ll want to make sure they complete a detailed background check, health evaluations, and more to determine if they are a suitable choice to become your surrogate.

Financial Planning for Surrogacy Costs

When comparing the agency route to the independent path, the independent path to surrogacy is by far the most cost effective. However, you’ll still want to prepare for the expenses to come, because surrogacy in general is still quite expensive!

You’ll have to account for all medical expenses, compensation for your surrogate, legal fees, surrogate health insurance, and any additional surrogacy costs that pop up along the way. You’ll also want to be aware of when these fees need to paid. 

For example, your legal fees can be around $8-$15,000. It is typically broken up into two payments; one for the gestational carrier agreement (your legal contract) and one for filing for parentage (your pre or post birth orders). Consult with your surrogacy lawyer for more details on your specific payment schedule.

Surrogate compensation will be by far the biggest cost you’ll have to cover. Typically, the base compensation is split into eight to ten equal payments. However, when escrow is funded, it is common to fund with at least the base compensation (please note this can vary based on what is written in your legal contract).

The cost of surrogacy without agency is still significant despite not having to pay the agency fee. Do your due diligence ahead of time to map out the exact costs so you’re not surprised and can prepare any financial assistance you may need to complete the process.

Preparing for Birth and After

Before the actual birth occurs, you’ll want to be prepared so that you can enjoy the birth and not have to worry about any arrangements, contracts or details in the moment.

Ideally, you’ll have all your hospital arrangements and birth plan set ahead of time. Your surrogate will likely have some preferences, so those should be talked over and sorted out beforehand as well.

The roles of the Intended Parents for before and after the birth should also be spelled out. Once you are in the post-birth stage, you might need professionals to help with emotional support counseling as well as additional legal help with paperwork, etc. All of these details need to be agreed upon between the surrogate and Intended Parents early on so there is no grey area or miscommunication down the line, and the transition can occur smoothly.

Taking the Independent Surrogacy Path

When researching inexpensive surrogacy options, independent surrogacy is a cost effective way to go about the surrogacy process, but it does require a lot of extra work (read: it can feel like a full time job to manage all the details). You’ll want someone on your side to make sure you don’t overlook any important details, or get yourself into a sticky situation. At Surrogacy Simplified, we can guide you through this tricky process, ensuring that you have a smooth and positive experience. Our founder, Jessie, experienced her own independent journey and wished their was someone to guide her in a similar way that an agency does for a fraction of the cost. Surrogacy Simplified was launched in a direct response to that - provide full case management for an independent journey without the agency price tag.

To learn how we can support you in your independent journey, book your complimentary consultation with us to learn more about how we can work together to help complete your family.