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Surrogacy FAQ Center

The Golden Surrogacy FAQ Center brings together the questions Intended Parents and Surrogates ask most often. Learn how surrogacy works, what to expect at each stage, and where to find deeper guidance on costs, compensation, matching, screening, legal steps, and timing.

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Intended Parents
Questions for Intended Parents
Programs and pricing, Surrogate screening, matching, IVF coordination, and what Golden manages for your family.
Read Intended Parent Questions
Surrogates
Questions for Surrogates
Compensation and benefits, eligibility, screening, matching, and the support Golden provides through delivery.
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Costs and Financing
Costs and Financial Questions
Golden Signature and Golden Guarantee, planning estimates, escrow management, and how funds are released.
Review Surrogacy Costs
Legal and Process
Legal, Matching, and Process Questions
State law, independent attorneys, parentage, matching, and how long a full surrogacy timeline generally runs.
Review Surrogacy Laws by State

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Common Questions About Surrogacy

Start here for the questions Intended Parents and Surrogates ask first.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesHow does surrogacy work?

Golden exclusively coordinates gestational surrogacy journeys. An embryo created through IVF using the Intended Parents’ or donors’ genetic material is transferred to a Gestational Surrogate, who has no genetic relationship to the child she carries.

Golden’s process moves through eight stages: consultation or application, Premium Surrogate Sourcing or Pre-Screening, mutual matching, medical screening and clearance, independent legal agreements, embryo transfer, pregnancy support, and birth with parentage coordination. Review the Intended Parent Surrogacy Process or the Surrogate Process for the full stage-by-stage explanation. For an introduction, read Surrogacy Fundamentals.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesWhy work with a surrogacy agency?

An agency coordinates the people, records, payments, and timelines that a surrogacy journey requires, so families and Surrogates are not managing that work alone.

Golden is a trusted U.S. surrogacy agency established in 2013. Frank and Adam Golden remain personally involved in the agency’s work, while Golden coordinates matching, screening, independent professionals, and journey support for Intended Parents and Surrogates. Read Why Golden for Intended Parents or Why Surrogates Choose Golden.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesHow long does the process take?

For Intended Parents, Golden recommends planning approximately 18 to 24 months from consultation to birth. A Surrogate’s active journey begins with application and Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening, followed by mutual matching, medical and legal clearance, embryo transfer, and an approximately nine-month pregnancy.

Timing may change because of embryo readiness, screening, matching preferences, clinic scheduling, legal review, transfer results, and individual pregnancy circumstances. Golden provides realistic stage-by-stage guidance but does not promise a fixed completion date. See the Intended Parent Surrogacy Process and the Surrogate Process.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesWho does Golden support?

Golden supports Intended Parents across the United States and works with qualified Surrogates in the states from which Golden currently recruits. Golden serves single parents, married and unmarried couples, and LGBTQ+ families.

Guidance is state specific because surrogacy law varies. See Golden Locations for national coverage and Become a Surrogate by State for recruiting states.

Questions From Intended Parents

Programs, screening, costs, and matching, answered with Golden’s Intended Parent program and process guidance.

Intended ParentsWhat does Golden Surrogacy do for Intended Parents?

Golden coordinates Surrogate sourcing, Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening, mutual matching, communication with fertility clinics and independent attorneys, escrow setup with an independent provider, insurance coordination, pregnancy support, hospital planning, and delivery and post-birth coordination.

Intended Parents retain one accountable Golden team throughout the journey. Medical decisions remain with the fertility clinic and physicians, legal advice and filings remain with independent attorneys, and funds remain under the control of the independent escrow provider. See Why Golden for Intended Parents and the Intended Parent Surrogacy Process.

Intended ParentsHow are Surrogates screened before matching?

Golden completes Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening before a Surrogate is ever presented to Intended Parents.

Golden applies Enhanced Surrogate Criteria and facilitates intake review, professional collection of medical records, insurance analysis, OB clearance, psychological assessment, a virtual home visit, delivery-hospital access and NICU history verification, and preliminary IVF clinic acceptance, and final internal review before match presentation. Golden’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine screening review is included before match presentation as part of Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening. Records are reviewed by the appropriate physicians and the fertility clinic medical team, and final medical clearance for a specific journey rests with the Intended Parents’ clinic.

Intended ParentsHow much does surrogacy cost?

Golden offers two program structures. Golden Signature carries a $65,000 agency fee. When estimated third-party journey expenses are included, the overall Variable Cost planning estimate is approximately $230,000. Golden Guarantee carries a $275,000 program fee for covered expenses; IVF clinic costs and other exclusions are separate.

The Signature estimate assumes embryos are already created, one successful match, one embryo transfer resulting in pregnancy, and no significant unexpected third-party expenses. Golden Guarantee is subject to its governing agreement, inclusions, exclusions, and eligibility requirements. Review Surrogacy Costs and the Golden Guarantee program page for complete breakdowns.

For a Variable Cost journey, Golden recommends access to $300,000 or more before beginning. This is a financial-readiness threshold, not the agency fee, a fixed price, or a guaranteed maximum. Read Costs & Financing for funding and planning guidance.

Intended ParentsHow long does matching usually take?

Golden’s Intended Parent Surrogacy Process estimates Premium Surrogate Sourcing at approximately 6 to 12 months. Once an approved candidate is available, profile review, the introductory meeting, and the mutual matching decision generally take approximately 1 to 2 weeks.

Timing depends on the Intended Parents’ criteria, embryo readiness, medical circumstances, and the availability of Surrogates who have completed Golden’s Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening. Golden reports a 99% historical match rate, but individual timing varies. See the Intended Parent Surrogacy Process and Intended Parent Requirements.

View the Complete Intended Parent FAQ

Questions From Surrogates

Compensation, matching, location, and screening, answered with Golden’s Surrogate program and process guidance.

SurrogatesWhat is my compensation?

First-time Golden Surrogates receive a minimum $70,000 package consisting of $50,000 in base compensation and $20,000 in Standard Golden Benefits.

Eligible expenses and journey-specific incidentals, including approved travel, childcare, lost wages, and medical expenses, are reimbursed separately under the applicable agreement. Standard Golden Benefits include pre-pregnancy payments, a monthly allowance, and maternity clothing. Separately, Golden arranges the highest life-insurance coverage available to each Surrogate, with a required minimum of $750,000 for her chosen beneficiary or beneficiaries. Insurance is provided at no cost to the Surrogate and is not part of the $20,000 standard benefits calculation. Funds are held in escrow and released on the agreed schedule. See Surrogate Compensation for the full itemized ledger.

SurrogatesHow long does it take to be matched?

Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening normally takes approximately 30 to 90 days, depending on record collection, appointments, professional review, and clinic coordination. Once a Surrogate is approved and a compatible Intended Parent is available, profile review and the mutual matching decision generally take approximately 1 to 2 weeks.

Golden uses mutual matching. A Surrogate reviews the Intended Parent profile, participates in an introductory conversation, and decides whether she wants to proceed. Neither side is required to accept a proposed match. See the Surrogate Process page.

SurrogatesDo I need to live in Illinois?

No. Golden works with qualified Surrogates in the states from which the agency currently recruits. Eligibility also depends on Golden’s requirements, applicable law, medical review, and journey-specific considerations.

After matching, Golden helps coordinate clinic-screening and embryo-transfer travel, with approved travel costs paid by the Intended Parents under the agreement. Your state also shapes the legal path for establishing parentage and the attorneys involved, so guidance is state specific. See Become a Surrogate by State and Surrogacy Laws by State.

SurrogatesWhat testing and requirements are involved?

Golden Surrogates are generally 23 to 37 years old, have a BMI of 30 or below, have experienced at least one uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, have had no more than three previous deliveries, and have given birth to and personally raised, or currently be raising, at least one biological child.

Surrogates and, when applicable, their spouse or partner complete infectious-disease screening and other clinic-required testing. Screening also includes professional medical-record collection, OB clearance, a psychological assessment, background screening, a virtual home visit, and IVF clinic evaluation. Golden facilitates record collection and coordinates review by the appropriate physicians and fertility clinic medical team. Golden does not independently perform medical-record review or provide medical clearance. See Surrogate Requirements for the complete criteria and qualifications.

View the Complete Surrogate FAQ

Costs, Legal, and Process Questions

Escrow, state law, independent counsel, and mutual matching.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesHow are escrow funds managed?

Surrogate compensation and journey expenses are held by an independent escrow company rather than by the agency, and payments are released according to the schedule in the signed agreement.

Intended Parents receive account statements, and Surrogates receive payments on the agreed milestones. See Surrogacy Costs and Trusted Providers.

Intended ParentsWhat if Intended Parents live in a non-surrogacy-friendly state?

Intended Parents may still be able to pursue surrogacy. The legal path depends on the states involved and the facts of the journey, including where the Surrogate resides and delivers.

Golden recruits in surrogacy-friendly states and coordinates independent assisted-reproduction counsel to determine and complete the appropriate parentage process. Golden coordinates the process and does not provide individualized legal advice. Review Surrogacy Laws by State and Locations.

Intended ParentsCan Intended Parents use any attorney?

Intended Parents select their own independent attorney, but the attorney should have meaningful assisted-reproduction experience and be properly licensed for the legal work the journey requires. Depending on the states and facts involved, counsel in more than one jurisdiction may be necessary.

The Surrogate receives separate independent legal representation so that each side receives advice based on its own rights and responsibilities. Golden may share experienced professional resources and coordinate document timing, but Golden does not choose counsel for either party or provide legal advice. See Trusted Providers and Surrogacy Laws by State.

Intended Parents and SurrogatesHow does Golden match Intended Parents and Surrogates?

Golden uses a mutual matching process. Intended Parents receive a candidate profile only after the Surrogate has completed Golden’s Premium Surrogate Pre-Screening. Both sides review relevant information and participate in an introductory conversation before deciding whether to proceed.

Matching considers journey expectations, communication preferences, geography, relationship expectations, and other compatibility considerations reviewed with both sides. Neither the Intended Parents nor the Surrogate is required to accept a proposed match. See the Intended Parent Surrogacy Process, the Surrogate Process, the complete Intended Parent matching answer, and the complete Surrogate matching answer.

Need More Detailed Answers?

The full audience libraries provide Golden’s complete Intended Parent and Surrogate FAQ collections, organized by topic and searchable in the same way.

Intended Parents
Full Intended Parent FAQ
Programs and pricing, matching and screening, IVF and embryos, escrow, insurance, legal coordination, and terminology.
View the Complete Intended Parent FAQ
Surrogates
Full Surrogate FAQ
Compensation and expenses, requirements, screening and matching, IVF, pregnancy and travel, legal protection, and support.
View the Complete Surrogate FAQ

Need More Personalized Guidance?

Every Journey Is Individual

Reading is a good beginning. A conversation is where your own path becomes clear.

Golden’s team can help you understand program fit, state-specific coordination, and timing, and connect you with qualified professionals for medical or legal questions specific to your situation.

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