Not every journey goes as planned. A match can end before a contract is signed, a transfer may not produce a pregnancy, and a pregnancy can be lost. This page explains, stage by stage, what happens to each dollar you have committed. Agency terms marked for confirmation will be confirmed in your agency agreement.
Where is your money at each stage of the journey?
Your money sits in four places, and each one behaves differently when a journey fails:
- The agency program fee, paid to Private Label Surrogacy in installments at signing, at surrogate acceptance and at medical clearance.
- The independent escrow account, which you fund with $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start. It holds the surrogate's compensation and expenses and the third-party funds.
- Your clinic, which you pay directly for IVF, screening, medications and transfers.
- Third parties already paid, such as attorneys for completed work.
The key protection is the second one. PLS never holds client money, so the funds for the surrogate and third parties are with an independent licensed escrow agent, not in the agency's account. You may choose your own escrow company.
What happens to escrow funds after a failed transfer or loss?
Escrow funds that have not been disbursed stay yours. The independent escrow agent returns the unspent balance, less amounts already earned by the surrogate and third parties.
After a failed transfer, the undisbursed balance is usually rolled into the next cycle with the same surrogate rather than returned, because most of it will be needed again. At PLS, the surrogate's base compensation is tied to pregnancy, so after a failed transfer it has not yet been paid. If you decide not to continue, the escrow agent returns what remains under the terms of the escrow agreement.
This is why where the money sits matters more than any promise. When an agency holds client funds, a failed journey, or a failed agency, can leave families chasing money they are owed. The Surro Connections collapse in late 2025, followed by a federal indictment in August 2026, and the SEAM escrow failure, which involved more than $16 million, are recent examples. See escrow.
Which surrogate payments are kept and which stop?
The rule is simple: payments already earned for completed milestones are kept, and future payments stop.
- Allowance and milestone payments already paid, such as the monthly allowance, the medication-start payment and the transfer payment, are not returned.
- Base compensation already paid for months of pregnancy is not returned. Future installments stop at the date of loss.
- Loss-related amounts set in the gestational carrier agreement are paid as the contract provides.
- A new cycle restarts milestone payments.
At PLS, a surrogate who does not become pregnant after a transfer keeps the transfer fee, the medication-start payment and the allowance already earned; base compensation is tied to pregnancy.
This is fair to both sides. The surrogate has taken the medications, done the monitoring and undergone the transfer; that work is complete whether or not it succeeds. And intended parents do not pay base compensation for a pregnancy that did not continue.
What happens to the agency fee?
This is the piece that differs most between agencies, so read it closely.
At PLS, on the Standard tier, a match that ends before transfer is rematched at no new program fee. On the Assured tier, at $62,500, you get priority matching, unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed.
Exact Standard-tier rematch terms (what counts as "before transfer") and what the Assured tier covers after a failed pregnancy: to be confirmed.
Program fee installments already earned are generally not refunded, because the work behind them is done. Installments whose triggers never occur are not owed. See the refund and rematch policy.
| Scenario | Escrow outcome | Surrogate compensation outcome | Agency fee outcome | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match ends before contract | Undisbursed funds remain yours | Allowance earned to date, if any, is kept | Rematch at no new program fee | PLS presents a new match |
| Failed transfer | Undisbursed balance remains yours; usually rolled into the next cycle | Transfer fee, medication-start payment and allowance earned are kept; base not yet started | Depends on tier; confirm terms | New transfer with the same surrogate if medically cleared |
| Early loss | Undisbursed balance remains yours | Payments earned to the date of loss kept; loss-related amounts per contract; future installments stop | Depends on tier; confirm terms | Clinic plans next transfer when the surrogate is medically ready |
| Late loss | Undisbursed balance remains yours | Payments earned to the date of loss kept; loss-related amounts per contract; future installments stop | Depends on tier; confirm terms | Support for the surrogate first; then decide together on next steps |
| Surrogate withdraws | Undisbursed funds remain yours | Payments earned to date kept; future payments stop | Rematch at no new program fee | PLS presents a new match |
What does a second attempt cost?
A second transfer with the same surrogate typically costs $5,000 to $10,000 in clinic and medication fees, plus the surrogate's transfer payment, travel and local monitoring. At PLS the transfer payment is $1,000 and a new cycle also restarts the $500 medication-start payment; confirm schedule.
If you need new embryos, add a retrieval cycle. If you need a new surrogate, add her screening, legal work and the rematch terms of your tier.
Most of the escrow balance is usually still in place after a failed transfer, because base compensation has not started. The new money is mainly clinic, medication, travel and monitoring.
Emotionally and practically, the decision to try again is yours and the surrogate's together, with your clinic's medical advice. Some surrogates need a break before another cycle. PLS's case manager, who has been a surrogate herself, supports her through that decision, and Nancy Block, RN, talks through the options with you.
How do Standard and Assured tiers differ when a journey fails?
The Standard tier ($47,500) rematches at no new program fee when a match ends before transfer. The Assured tier ($62,500) adds unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed.
Neither tier fixes clinic costs or surrogate compensation; no agency controls those. The Assured tier fixes the agency-fee risk. It is worth considering if you expect to need more than one transfer, or if you want the agency side settled once regardless of how the first match goes. See fixed-price versus variable programs.
How do you limit financial exposure before you sign?
- Keep every dollar for the surrogate and third parties in independent licensed escrow, and get statements.
- Read the rematch and refund terms in the agency agreement, in writing, before you sign.
- Create and test embryos before matching, if your clinic recommends testing, so each transfer has the best chance your clinic can give it.
- Budget for a second transfer as a contingency, not a surprise.
- Know the insurance answer before match, so a loss with complications does not create an uncovered hospital bill.
- Understand the loss provisions in the gestational carrier agreement, with your attorney.
A failed transfer or a loss is hard enough without financial uncertainty. The structure above is designed so that, if it happens, you know exactly where each dollar is. See miscarriage and failed transfer for the medical side.