How Much Does Surrogacy Cost in New York and New Jersey?

Perhaps the most common question intended parents ask is, “How much is surrogacy in New York or New Jersey?” Concern regarding the price of surrogacy is understandable given that many considering this option have already spent years and many thousands of dollars pursuing medical treatments.

While there is no single, average cost of surrogacy in New York or New Jersey, it is useful to understand the services you’ll be paying for in connection with any surrogacy arrangement. If you are working with a surrogacy matching program, they will coordinate most of the required services and provide you with cost estimates for those service providers. If you are pursuing the surrogacy process without the assistance of a matching program, you’ll be contracting directly with those providers. The fees charged will vary depending on the intended parents’ and surrogate’s specific circumstances and the location where the services will be provided. Finally, as you likely know, any fees or expenses incurred by the surrogate in connection with the surrogacy are paid by the intended parents. In short, the overall cost of surrogacy will, in large part, be determined by the professionals you hire and by the surrogate’s agreed upon expenses/compensation.

To learn more about the cost of gestational surrogacy in NJ and the cost of surrogacy in NY you can call us and we will provide you with the estimated cost for our legal fees, what services are included in those fees, and what other services you’ll need in connection with your plan. You can reach us at 914-779-1050.

In the meantime, we’ve provided you with some additional information below as to what kind of surrogacy expenses you can expect to pay in connection with your family-building efforts.

Surrogate’s Expenses

New York

After February of 2021, persons acting as surrogates in New York may be compensated based on “medical risks, physical discomfort, inconvenience and the responsibilities they are undertaking in connection with their participation in the assisted reproduction. The New York CPSA further provides that the specific amount of the compensation “must be reasonable and negotiated in good faith between the parties, and said payments to a person acting as surrogate shall not exceed the duration of the pregnancy and recuperative period of up to eight weeks after the birth of any resulting children”.

New Jersey

In New Jersey, surrogates may be paid “reasonable living expenses” during her pregnancy including payments for reasonable food, clothing, medical expenses, shelter, and religious, psychological, vocational, or similar counseling services during the period of the pregnancy and during the period of postpartum recovery.

Whether you are pursuing a surrogacy arrangement in New York or New Jersey, surrogacy expenses are regulated and intended parents should always work with an attorney to ensure compliance with those regulations.

As a practical matter, the typical expenses paid on behalf of a surrogate include — but may not be limited to — the following:

Medical expenses associated with the embryo transfer procedure (including required medications, examinations, testing, and laboratory work);
Vitamins and maternity clothing
Travel expenses to and from appointments related to the surrogacy plan
Surrogacy-related counseling
Surrogacy-related legal fees
Cost of any recommended supplemental medical insurance policy (to cover the cost of pre-natal care, delivery and hospitalization)
Cost of surrogate’s life insurance policy and/or short-term disability insurance
“Reasonable” living expenses, such as food, housing, utilities (New Jersey)
“Reasonable compensation” (New York)

The cost of gestational surrogacy in NJ and NY will be detailed in the surrogacy agreement you sign with the surrogate to ensure that the anticipated expenses are clear and that any payments comply with legal restrictions.

Professional Services

Because surrogacy is a complex medical procedure, you will need to work with a team of physicians and other professionals to achieve a healthy pregnancy and ensure that the process proceeds smoothly. In the absence of medical insurance coverage for a particular medical procedure, you will bear the responsibility for paying these expenses. In every surrogacy arrangement, the surrogate should undergo a comprehensive assessment, including a physical evaluation, to determine whether she can carry and sustain a healthy pregnancy. She will also need to undergo a psychological evaluation to determine whether she has the mental and emotional capacity to carry and relinquish a child to another person. Intended parents are also often required to undergo mental health counseling, including a joint counseling session with the surrogate and her spouse or intimate partner, to ensure that everyone is prepared for the journey ahead.

The professionals you should expect to hire for this process include:

IVF physician and associated professionals at the IVF clinic
Mental health professional
Surrogate’s obstetrician
Professionals at delivery hospital
Surrogacy attorneys for you and the surrogate (more on that below)

Medical cost of IVF procedure

Both New York and New Jersey both mandate some insurance coverage for IVF treatments. IVF insurance mandates (or the lack of a mandate) are state specific, and not everyone will be eligible to have their IVF treatments covered by insurance. Resolve, the national infertility advocacy organization, was instrumental in gaining passage of the New York and New Jersey IVF insurance mandate bills and their website contains a wealth of information on this important issue. https://resolve.org/what-are-my-options/insurance-coverage/infertility-coverage-state/

Surrogacy Matching Program

Of course, if you choose to work with a surrogacy matching program, they will charge a fee for their services. As noted above, the overall cost of surrogacy will be determined by which professionals you hire. Make sure to do your homework before committing to a professional to ensure that their services are within your price expectations.

Legal Services

The intended parents pay the cost of the legal services provided to them and to the surrogate in connection with a surrogacy arrangement. A detailed surrogacy agreement, is essential to ensuring that everyone has thought through all aspects of the arrangement and that their responsibilities and expectations are clear. You will need a surrogacy attorney to complete this legal process. Even though the intended parents and surrogate are working collaboratively toward the same goal, and no one wants to incur added surrogacy costs, having separate legal counsel is essential to the integrity of the process and is legally mandated.

Please note that, although you are paying the surrogate’s legal fees and for her prenatal care and delivery, the professionals providing those services work for the surrogate and their duty of loyalty is to her alone.

Rumbold & Seidelman can help by drafting the surrogacy contract. Some of the issues addressed in the contract include:

an outline of each party’s rights and responsibilities
the risks each party is incurring (financial, legal and medical)
financial responsibility for expenses
Surrogate’s living expenses (NJ) or her agreement upon compensation (NY)
insurance coverage for the pregnancy and delivery
expectations regarding the authority to make medical decisions affecting the surrogate and child
expectations regarding contact and communication during the pregnancy and after the baby is born
The legal procedure for establishing the parentage of intended parents.

For more information about the services we offer and our average surrogacy fees, please contact our law firm today.