What is a realistic budget for costs and expenses for a UK surrogacy journey?
Budgeting is one of many daunting aspects of a UK surrogacy journey. At Brilliant Beginnings we help parents to navigate the costs with confidence, from creating a clear budget at the start to managing things throughout the process.
A healthy overall budget for gestational surrogacy in the UK is £50,000 – £60,000. Here are some of the pieces of the puzzle you will need to account for:
Conception – fertility treatment costs
If you are planning a gestational surrogacy journey (where your surrogate carries a child she is not genetically related to) a big portion of your overall budget will go on the creation and transfer of embryos at a fertility clinic. Almost all UK fertility treatment for surrogacy is privately funded.
Some intended parents may come to surrogacy never having stepped foot in a fertility clinic, while others may have already spent years trying to conceive. Some need the help of an egg donor to create embryos, while others need to create embryos using their own eggs and sperm. Other intended parents may already have embryos in storage. Find out more about the costs of IVF for surrogacy.
Cost: £5,000-£20,000+
Support from a surrogacy agency or organisation
Brilliant Beginnings is the UK’s only surrogacy agency offering a matching and fully-managed professional support service. There are also a number of other non-profit surrogacy organisations which offer community support as well, and independent Facebook groups you can join with no cost commitment. It is important to work out what works best for you in terms of support and access to advice as well as what meets your budget. Sometimes the cost of an organisation that offers support and guidance at the initial stages will save time and money by avoiding issues that complicate and escalate costs.
Cost: £0 – £15,000
Payments to your surrogate
All surrogates are motivated by the desire to see the intended parents with their baby in their arms, but they will also incur costs in carrying a surrogate pregnancy which intended parents cover. Some surrogates (often those helping friends and family) may not want any reimbursement above minimal out of pocket expenses, but more commonly surrogates and intended parents will agree a reasonable overall reimbursement figure which will be paid over the course of the pregnancy. At Brilliant Beginnings we help our surrogates to work through the finances as part of our match process so this is all dealt with clearly and upfront. Typically we see payments to surrogates of £12,000 – £18,000.
Cost: £minimal – £20,000
Legal costs
Legal advice should be sought at an early stage, and is included in our surrogacy agency service at Brilliant Beginnings. When your baby is born you will need to apply for a parental order to become your child’s legal parents. Read more here on our sister organisations NGA Law’s website. There is a court fee of £215 and many intended parents also have legal support or legal representation from a solicitor to navigate the process.
Cost: £215 – £7,000
Other expenses
At Brilliant Beginnings we always advise that life insurance is in place for the surrogate and that everyone has up to date wills. There will also be costs for the intended parents’ travel, accommodation and related expenses which will be very dependent on where they and the surrogate are based, and how often they visit during the journey.
Cost: £1,000 to £2,000
