Do you get approved to be IPs?

[polarbearsolarbear]

Just wondered if it's similar to adoption with needing to be approved before you can use one?

Also how much money realistically you need to afford to become parents via surrogacy?

Dealing with fertility issues and wondering about everything really. We have one birth child already

[CleanKingdom]

No there's no formal process of being accepted. It's a simple, informal and non-legally binding process where someone agrees to birth your baby. There's no contract that can be legally enforced in the UK. This means despite the baby being yours (even you chose to have your eggs in the surrogate therefore it having no biological relation to the surrogate) she could theoretically decide to keep it. This is however almost unheard of - but it is important to remember when picking your all important surrogate.

Also it's illegal to "pay" someone to have a baby for you, you are allowed to do it but are only allowed to paid what are deemed "reasonable expenses" - this equates to a maximum of around £15,000. A lot of surrogates will ask for this whole amount, some less, some will ask for nothing, this again is unlikely unless it's a personal friend or relative.

I hope this helps.

[CleanKingdom]

This covers everything: watch part one and two.

[Linet333]

I guess it depends; if you are going solo or with an agency. If going solo, surrogacy can be cheaper. However, this option will involve you spending a lot of time looking for the best surrogate in terms of dependency and affordability. In the UK, you cannot pay someone to be a surrogate, but it is common to cater for all the living and medical expenses of the surrogate during the period. It can cost anything between $5k - $20K Agencies charge separate fees for separate services including finding the right surrogate and fending for their upkeep. Generally, it costs roughly $50, 000 for the whole process.

[2021theyear]

Hi, I am not sure if this thread is still active but my husband and I are considering surrogacy.. we aren’t really sure where to start! Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!