The SeedTrust team includes CPAs and attorneys with fiduciary responsibilities, ensuring meticulous oversight. Internal and external accounting teams, led by CPAs, regularly review accounts. SeedTrust’s secure system provides 100% transparency and real-time notifications, facilitating continuous oversight and clear channels for issue reporting. Due to our substantial bond size, we undergo detailed annual underwriting and audits. This comprehensive review adds an extra layer of oversight, and our insurance providers back SeedTrust with an industry-leading $50 million bond.

An escrow company should provide real-time access to account details, including ledgers and transactions, for all parties involved. System transparency and real-time notifications allow intended parents, surrogates, donors, and agencies to promptly identify and address any potential issues.

Internal and external audits and checks by CPAs are a crucial element of oversight within a system of checks and balances. The accounting teams should be separate from operational and payment teams and lack banking approval authority to ensure independence. Audits should be conducted in a separate accounting system with independent books and reconciliations.This audit process acts as a check to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the escrow accounts.

Internal practices include regular reconciliation of escrow accounts by separate accounting teams, maintaining independent sets of books, and conducting regular bank reconciliations. These practices help identify and resolve discrepancies promptly.

The underwriting and requirements set by bonding or insurance companies issuing a bond or theft policy provide crucial due diligence and risk assessment for escrow companies. These requirements, especially for coverage above $10 million, include detailed evaluations of the company’s expertise, ownership, team, financials, structure, systems, processes, and banking. This annual review ensures risk levels remain acceptable, as the insurance company is responsible for covering losses up to the policy amount. Therefore, working with an escrow provider without a bond of more than $10 million is not advisable.

CPAs provide financial expertise and knowledge of internal controls. Their knowledge can help design robust internal control systems and processes. They are also governed by state boards, which can discipline them if they violate any public accountancy rules.

A licensed attorney provides legal oversight and fiduciary responsibility. An escrow company in our industry should have a licensed attorney as an owner or full-time employee. If issues arise, parties can file complaints with the state agency, which can investigate and discipline the attorney for any wrongdoing. Disciplinary actions can include additional education, reprimand, suspension, or disbarment, particularly for misappropriation or theft of client funds.

An escrow provider must have oversight and regular audits from multiple sources.Oversight from licensed individuals such as CPAs and attorneys is essential to ensure the security and integrity of the escrow process. Without such oversight and the potential for license loss in case of issues, the risk of working with an escrow company is too high.

At SeedTrust, all funds are insured by our industry-leading bond and insurance program. Our trust accounts are backed by a $50 million bond. Our comprehensive insurance coverage includes a $2 million general liability policy, a $1 million errors and omissions policy, and a $1 million Cyber Incident Protection policy. SeedTrust strives to reduce risk and protect our clients at all costs.

Cyber Incident Protection insurance is crucial as it protects the company from damages caused by cyber-attacks. This insurance includes a response team to help manage and reduce damages during an attack. A minimum of a $1 million policy is recommended for adequate coverage.

The next critical policy is the errors and omissions (E&O) policy, which all escrow companies should maintain. This policy protects the company and its clients from mistakes that are not theft but human error. We believe an escrow company should maintain a $1 million policy, as it would cover mistakes on more than 10 cases at one time, which is unlikely to occur. Surrogacy and egg donation escrows are complex, involving many payments, and an E&O policy should be in place to protect all parties in the event of a mistake.

Given that the requirements and underwriting ramp up significantly at $10 million in coverage, we believe this should be the minimum policy an escrow company holds. They should not be trusted to hold funds if they cannot afford or qualify for a $10 million bond, or roughly 10 times what any one case could hold. Given that theft or misappropriation of funds is the most common issue with less secure providers, this should be a strict requirement.

Bonding requires underwriting and strict requirements due to the risk for insurance companies. Insurance companies specialize in evaluating the risk of theft and must back the company with their shareholders’ money if they issue the bond. Therefore, these policies can be hard to obtain, especially if the escrow company does not have the right qualifications, team, structure, and systems in place. Additionally, the policies are very expensive, and escrow companies must be financially secure and willing to pay for them to protect their clients.

The most important insurance policy an escrow company can hold is often called a bond. A bond is a crime, employee dishonesty, or theft insurance policy that protects clients’ funds in the event of loss due to theft or misappropriation. This type of policy can be called an employee dishonesty policy, crime policy, bond, or fidelity bond. In this context, the terminology is interchangeable. In the event of theft or misappropriation of funds, this policy will pay out to return the money.

Bonding requires underwriting due to the risk for insurance companies. These policies can also be hard to obtain, especially if the escrow company does not have the right qualifications, team, structure, and systems in place. Additionally, the policies are very expensive, and escrow companies must be financially secure and willing to pay for them to protect their clients. It is crucial that an escrow company acquires and maintains a sizable bond

Bonding and insurance are critical components that provide a safety net to protect the company, its clients, and its funds in the event of theft, errors, omissions causing loss, or a cyber-attack.

SeedTrust is an independent third-party escrow company with no ties to any agency, law firm, or clinic. SeedTrust solely focuses on managing escrow and protecting all parties involved, ensuring funds are handled in strict compliance with the agreements. This independence allows the team to confidently and objectively manage cases and guide parties through conflicts, involving attorneys if necessary. This impartiality and expertise position SeedTrust to recommend the best course of action for all parties.

New York recently passed a surrogacy statute prohibiting agency-managed and attorney-held escrow where the attorney represents one of the parties due to significant conflicts of interest. These types of arrangements should be avoided to ensure unbiased fund management.

The purpose of an escrow company is to act as an independent third-party neutral, paying out claims or reimbursements according to the written terms of the agreements between the parties. An escrow company should avoid conflicts of interest and not be involved in creating or managing the match. The company and its owners should not have any greater allegiance to any party involved, nor should they have ownership or managerial control over any other providers paid throughout the process. The escrow company’s job is to manage funds in strict compliance with the underlying contracts, which is particularly complex in surrogacy and egg donation agreements.

Conflicts of interest arise if the escrow manager is also an attorney for one of the parties, as they owe loyalty to their client and must follow their client’s instructions, even if it contradicts the written agreement. An independent escrow company can neutrally manage disputes, coordinating with both parties’ attorneys to find a resolution.

One of the core responsibilities of an escrow company is to review receipts and confirm payments by checking documentation against the contract. The risk of bias is too high if the escrow company is managing payments for themselves or others they hire, such as in agency-managed escrows. These arrangements lack proper checks and balances and can lead to conflicts of interest.

Managing escrow for a surrogacy journey is particularly complex, involving over 100 time-sensitive payments to various providers over a multi-year process. Each submitted request must be checked against the  journey-specific underlying Gestational Surrogacy Agreement (GSA) and/or agency agreements, along with provided supporting documents. The escrow company must review these agreements and understand the documentation necessary to determine if the payment should be approved per the agreements or if further documentation or approvals are required. Some calculations and documentation, such as lost wages, are complex. The escrow company is also responsible for reviewing the contract and scheduling non-contingent payments like base compensation and insurance. To do this correctly, they must fully understand the contract. 

The escrow provider plays a key role in working with all parties throughout the journey to explain the financial provisions when misunderstandings or disagreements arise. The escrow company also needs to navigate disputes fairly to protect all parties. There are many potential issues that can arise throughout a journey, and the escrow manager must be able to manage the complexity and provide guidance no matter the issue. All of this requires specific qualifications and industry-specific expertise to execute well.

Managing an escrow company or any financial institution requires specific expertise and qualifications in business, accounting, banking, and law. This expertise ensures the company is properly run with the necessary structure, systems, insurance, and oversight to keep clients’ funds secure and manage the complex process of surrogacy and egg donation escrow.

The escrow manager has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the funds between the parties in strict compliance with the underlying contracts, ensuring payments are authorized according to the contracts or by obtaining approval from appropriate parties. Ensure that your escrow provider takes on this responsibility in the escrow agreement.

An escrow company should be an unbiased third-party without greater allegiance to any party in the underlying agreements. It should not have ownership or managerial control over any other providers paid throughout the process, ensuring impartial management of funds.

The infrastructure behind our escrow software prioritizes information security. Our online platform utilizes AES-256 encryption and follows the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines. This ensures that your valuable data and information are handled with the utmost care.

Our software provides real-time access to all case details and tracking for all transactions, notifying clients immediately via email of any meaningful changes and payments.This transparency reduces the risk of errors and ensures that any unauthorized payment is quickly flagged. In addition, our independent accounting system audits the core escrow operations system against accounting records and bank statements, adding an extra layer of security.  All of our bonding and insurance information is located within our portal so our clients have up to date access to our policies.

SeedTrust maintains industry-leading software systems and rigorous processes at every step.

 For example, if an error is detected by the payment review team, they cannot change it directly; it must be returned to the approving team for review and adjustment.

Every action by the SeedTrust team occurs within our system without exception, ensuring compliance with our strict protocols and full oversight and transparency. Our custom-built escrow software minimizes errors, increases transparency, and ensures that the proper process is followed without exception.

SeedTrust uses a robust multi-bank system with close integrations and the highest level of fraud protection, including positive pay, dual control, and multi-factor approvals. We maintain escrow accounts with multiple banks to ensure uninterrupted service in case of a disruption with one bank or account. This setup minimizes the risk of fraud and ensures continuous operations for our clients.

Client funds are held in attorney and CPA managed trust accounts. The client escrow accounts managed by SeedTrust are strictly for client funds and are never combined with other funds or the company’s operating cash. Our services and banking integration allow for the movement of escrow funds exclusively through our designated systems and procedures, ensuring secure movement through a 5-step approval process that cannot be bypassed. At the bank level, separate teammates must upload and submit the file for approval, which requires custom permissions to move money. Our custom banking setup and integrations provide essential protection and security.

At SeedTrust, we ensure the security of our clients’ funds with a rigorous structure and robust internal controls. Our 5-step approval process involves specialized escrow managers, attorneys, an MBA-credentialed payment team, and a CPA-led accounting team. This thorough system of checks and balances makes it extremely difficult for any single person or group of people to misappropriate funds while reducing mistakes. It would take collusion by four-five different people, including owners, from separate teams to steal any escrow money, which would be caught by our audit team within days. This process applies to all employees and owners regarding any movement of escrow funds without exception.

A proper structure with appropriate checks and balances is essential. All requests and payments should be reviewed, approved, and audited by separate individuals who report to different managers. Multi-user controls and approvals must be in place for any money to be released from the client’s escrow account. It should always take a minimum of 3-4 people to approve and move money from an escrow account to ensure that no single bad actor can transfer funds improperly. In addition, timely auditing by a separate accounting team ensures that potential theft or errors are caught quickly and handled appropriately.

Similar to any financial institution, an escrow company must implement secure operational structures, systems, and processes to prevent theft and errors. Without proper internal checks and balances, the risk of mistakes or theft becomes too high. Ensuring these structures are in place is critical for the company’s security and the integrity of its services.

With extensive experience in all critical business and legal aspects of running an escrow company, our skilled team has successfully managed over 20,000 cases. This track record establishes SeedTrust as the world’s leading expert in surrogacy and egg donation escrow management, providing our clients with unparalleled security, service, guidance and peace of mind.

SeedTrust boasts a robust team of professionals led by our founders—a CPA, an attorney, and a former bank executive. Our team includes over 50 experts, such as multiple attorneys, CPAs, and MBAs, all dedicated to securely serving our clients. This diverse group of professionals ensures that every aspect of our operations is managed with the highest level of expertise.

The owners and team of an escrow company must be highly qualified and experienced in financial services management. Due to the complexity of surrogacy and egg donation escrow, a diverse team of professionals with exceptional qualifications and licenses in business, finance, accounting, banking, and law is essential. At a minimum, the company should have a full-time CPA and a licensed attorney with experience in surrogacy and egg donation escrow to provide oversight.

Managing these cases involves handling numerous time-sensitive payments and detailed contractual obligations. Therefore, having a highly qualified and experienced team is essential. This ensures meticulous review and appropriate approval of payments, accurate management of funds, implementation of robust internal controls to prevent fraud and errors, and effective dispute resolution. Ultimately, this approach secures client funds and safeguards the interests of all parties involved throughout the entire journey.

When selecting an escrow provider, clients should at a minimum ensure the following key elements are in place to ensure security of funds and the ability for the provider to execute:

• Qualified and experienced leadership and staff
• Defined structure, processes, systems
• Independent and specialized operations
• Bonded and insured services
• Regular audits to uphold security and reliability standards

SeedTrust was established to set a new higher standard in the surrogacy and egg donation industry by offering more secure, efficient, and transparent escrow services. With over nine years of experience and serving over 20,000 families without issues, SeedTrust has become a market leader. We prioritize qualified leadership, defined processes, independent operations, bonding, insurance, and regular audits to ensure the highest standards of security and reliability.

Selecting a secure escrow provider is crucial because, as an impartial third party with a fiduciary responsibility, it protects all parties by ensuring funds are available for contractual payments accurately and timely, eliminating the risk of fund loss and errors, and reducing financial stress by providing impartial guidance to intended parents, surrogates, and donors. At SeedTrust, our priority is to ensure our clients can focus on growing their families without worrying about financial uncertainties.

SeedTrust mitigates risks through independent operations, stringent protocols with industry-leading standards and bonding. This approach ensures that funds are handled securely and transparently, providing a trustworthy and reliable service for intended parents, surrogates, and donors.

SeedTrust stands out as an exemplary escrow provider due to its unmatched security, transparency, service and expertise. Key features include:

Security

Qualified and Experienced Team:

• Founded and led by a CPA, an attorney, and led by a former bank executive.
• A diverse team of over 50 professionals, including multiple attorneys, CPAs, and MBAs, with extensive experience in surrogacy and egg donation escrow.

Defined Structure, Processes and Systems:

• Robust internal controls and processes with a 5-step approval process for payments.
• Departmental teams with specialized system access and limited authorities based on roles and responsibilities, combined with timely audits by independent accounting teams to ensure robust checks and balances.
• Robust Multi-Bank System and Fraud Protection: Utilizes multiple banks with advanced fraud protection services (positive pay, dual control, multi-factor approvals) and rigorous internal controls, ensuring uninterrupted service and safeguarding client funds against theft and errors.
• Advanced Custom-Built Software: Employs industry-leading software systems with AES-256 encryption, ensuring information security, transparency, and real-time notifications for clients, while maintaining rigorous internal controls and processes to minimize errors and protect funds.

Independent and Specialized:

• Operates as an unbiased third party with no ownership or control over other service providers in the process.
• Focuses solely on the fiduciary responsibility of managing escrow and protecting all parties involved.
• Experienced to guide clients through any escrow issue or complexity. 

Bonded and Insured:

• Maintains a $50 million bond, $2 million general liability policy, $1 million errors and omissions policy, and $1 million Cyber Incident Protection policy.
• First in the industry to introduce and operate with a large bond, ensuring comprehensive risk coverage.

Oversight:

• CPA and Attorney Oversight: Multiple licensed CPAs and attorneys with  fiduciary responsibility who must maintain compliance with their respective state licensing authorities.
• Detailed annual underwriting and requirements by our eight bonding providers backing SeedTrust with a $50 million bond.
• Regular internal and external audits and checks conducted by CPAs.
• Real-time transparency and notifications through custom-built escrow software providing for client and agency oversight.

Service and Experience:

SeedTrust offers a large, caring, purpose-driven team of experts available to guide clients throughout their journey. The team is multilingual, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin.

SeedTrust takes on the responsibility and liability to ensure funds are managed in accordance with the contract. The team provides fast and timely approvals and payments, with scheduled payments for key benchmarks such as base compensation. 

SeedTrust maintains the best and most user-friendly custom software, offering full transparency and ease of use. 

SeedTrust charges one flat fee with a generous refund policy, making them a great partner throughout the journey.

Selecting an escrow provider is crucial because the provider is highly involved throughout the surrogacy or egg donation journey. An escrow company is a critical partner in ensuring that funds are managed securely and efficiently. A qualified provider protects all parties from financial risks and ensures the smooth and accurate handling of payments and related transactions. The escrow provider also serves as an intermediary in explaining financial matters allowing the client to focus on more meaningful conversations about the baby.

Yes! SeedTrust accepts independent surrogacy escrow management cases. Contact us today to learn more about intended parent surrogacy escrow management services.

• Funds are backed by our program.
• We protect all of the parties.
• Every case is has a dedicated and experienced escrow team.
• Enlisting the services of a fund manager vs. a fund holding company benefits all parties.

Learn more at https://www.seedtrustescrow.com/the-benefits-of-working-with-seedtrust-escrow/

It’s really easy! Ask your surrogacy and/or egg donor agency to email your match sheet to [email protected]. Once we set up your case, your dedicated SeedTrust Escrow team will be in touch. We will work with you to make sure that you understand how to utilize your dashboard to see all of the activity and documentation pertaining to your escrow funds.

Yes. We work with many international intended parents! Our online platform translates into seven (7) foreign languages. We have relationships with overseas banks that allow international intended parents to fund their escrow accounts. We also partner with foreign currency exchanges to lock in exchange rates and help minimize exchange fees.

SeedTrust charges a low, one-time fee for escrow fund management. Surrogacy fund management is a $1,850 flat fee ($2,000 for independent intended parents). Egg donor cases are $400. There are no additional annual fees and we don’t charge wire transfer fees or check-cutting fees. Need to rematch? There’s no extra charge for that either. With SeedTrust, there are no hidden fees. EVER.

An escrow fund management company, often called an “escrow provider” is a third party entity that maintains and manages how and when funds are disbursed to the parties who are contractually involved throughout a surrogacy and/or an egg donor journey. The escrow provider is responsible for holding the intended parent’s money in a secure account and ensuring that the funds are distributed in accordance with the provisions of the parties’ gestational surrogacy and/or egg donor agreement.

It’s really easy. Email us at [email protected] and send us the match sheet. We can work off of your match sheet as long as it includes the contact information for the intended parent(s), surrogate and/or egg donor, and your agency contacts. You will be assigned a dedicated team that consists of a client service member, paralegal, and accountant. Roland Salloum, SeedTrust’s COO, manages all of the members on the operations team. He’s reviewed thousands of contracts and is passionate about making sure that you and your clients have the very best escrow experience throughout their journey.

Yes. We work with a great many international intended parents. Our online platform translates into seven foreign languages. We have relationships with banks overseas to allow international intended parents to fund escrow. We also partner with foreign currency exchanges that will lock in exchange rates to help minimize their exchange fees.

No. Our purpose is to make the escrow process easy for everyone involved. While the majority of our agency partners elect to have us manage all of their cases, we don’t have a policy that mandates that we do so. We will manage as many or as few cases as you choose to refer us.

The majority of the agencies with which we partner do not pay our service fees. Most elect to have the intended parents pay our low, one-time fees. In those cases, the intended parents sign the service agreement with us and not the agency.

We protect all of the parties. In some States, it is illegal for agencies to hold escrow for their intended parents. It poses a conflict of interest since you have matched the intended parent(s) with a surrogate. If you are holding escrow for the intended parent and they feel they don’t wish to pay the surrogate, she is naturally put in an unfair position. The same conflict of interest is true for an attorney holding the escrow. There is no neutral party acting in both parties’ best interests.

Managing escrow is a much better option for all of the parties versus holding it. Our client service, legal and accounting teams review every surrogacy contract associated with each individual case and create a payment calendar that coincides with the language pertaining to payment disbursements in the contract. Once pregnancy is confirmed, all of the relevant parties have access to the calendar and now exactly when the disbursements will be paid to the surrogate. This simplifies the process and minimizes all of the questions around when/how the surrogate should expect to be paid. We are separate and neutral party and the contract is critical while managing escrow. A contract is not necessary to hold and merely disburse escrow.

We take on all of the liability. We accept all of your liability when we manage your escrow cases. That is one less burden that you have to shoulder throughout the surrogacy journeys you manage. If a mistake is made, we accept responsibility. In most cases, we simply absorb the cost of the mistake because we’d rather maintain the highest level of client satisfaction.

Every case is handled consistently and we’ll save your team valuable time. Our goal is to offer you and your clients the same level of care and expertise throughout every journey. Your case managers won’t have to toggle back and forth between different escrow processes. Your intended parents and surrogates will have full, online transparency allowing them to review ledger statements, disbursement data and the associated documentation so they won’t have to call and email you to inquire about those details. If they have questions, our team is available to answer their questions.

Your intended parents’ escrow funds are fully ensured. That’s huge! In every case of escrow theft or misappropriation, the owners of the company were to blame. Our insurance bond even protects intended parents if any SeedTrust owner/employee steals the money. That is a clause that was extremely hard to have underwritten. Full background checks have been completed on every employee and the bond covers in any/all theft related losses.

We will not close the account until all parties certify that all monies have been paid and that nothing more is due to be paid or reimbursed.  Once we have written confirmation from all parties, we prepare and refund the account funds via check or ACH/Wire Transfer.

Your client portal will remain active for 90 days after your account has been closed allowing you to access and download all documentation. Should you need to access your documentation after 90 days, you can do so by contacting our office, as SeedTrust® maintains files for three years after the contract has ended.

If you determine that SeedTrust is the right fit for you, please contact us at [email protected] or call 1-888-223-9818 and we will walk you through the next steps. For further information about the SeedTrust process please click here.

Because at SeedTrust, we believe in transparency and open lines of communication, we establish a benchmark payment schedule that is created and stored in the client portal; this schedule can be accessed at any time.

We believe establishing and displaying a payment schedule is the best first step, as it allows for any adjustments to be made and eliminates the guesswork. For instance, if your contract noted that your payment was to be disbursed on the 28th of every month and your particular banking institution has a required 4-day hold on incoming deposits, you would not receive your payment until after the first of the month. If agreed upon by all parties, we could easily modify the schedule and payment transfer date before the engagement began.

Once we establish a schedule that benefits all parties, the schedule document is created and stored in the client portal; this schedule can be accessed at any time. Payments are dispersed by direct deposit.

Payments for Reimbursements 

Download the reimbursement form from your SeedTrust client portal, complete the form, and upload the completed form and receipts and/or documentation to the portal.

Once all of the documentation has been uploaded to the portal, it will be reviewed, and payment will be promptly made. When the payment has been made, all parties will receive a notification from the portal that the ledger has been updated.

The documentation and forms will remain in the portal should either the IP or Surrogate need access to them.

You can easily fund your account using bank wire, ACH transfer, electronic fund transfer or by check. We suggest using wire or ACH transfer as the funds will clear and be ready for disbursement in as little as 24-48 hours. You can fund your account by check, but please note the check may take 10-15 days to clear through your banking institution. Should you need to replenish the funds in your account, you will receive an email notification from your client portal alerting you to do so. After you fund, notify SeedTrust within the system or by sending an email to [email protected] making sure to include your case name, the date you sent the funds, the amount sent, the method of payment and the name of the sender. If you decide to fund your account by check, please note the check may take 10-15 days to clear through your banking institution

Surrogates and Intended Parents have become accustomed to the complicated, antiquated and frustrating process of the industry’s current escrow experience. From the lack of communication to only receiving documentation after multiple requests to inconsistent payment schedules, both Intended Parents and Surrogates waste valuable time and even money.

Using SeedTrust® for your escrow needs introduces you to a new way of managing your funds. It gives you 24/7 access to all of your documentation through your own unique client portal (you can even download the app to your phone or tablet), customized alerts before payments are sent out and when anything has been updated in your portal, and a new and easy scheduling process that we ensure all parties agree upon before we distribute the first payment. Additionally all documentation in your client portal is in real-time; when a benchmark payment or reimbursement is made it is automatically reflected in your ledger which you can access at anytime.

SeedTrust® welcomes ALL clients and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. 

Escrow means that you’re using a “third party” to hold something of value, which helps to make your transaction safer. The job of an escrow service is simply to ensure that everybody sticks to what is outlined in the contract. Ideally, this would be a neutral third party, as they would have both parties best interests in mind.

Using a third party escrow agency like SeedTrust can eliminate the sometimes-uncomfortable conversations about money and payments that arise between the Intended Parents and Surrogate. By partnering with SmartVault, a secure and easy to access file management system, we have developed a unique process that eliminates the frustrating task of emailing accounting documents back and forth and allows you to spend more time on things that matter.

SeedTrust is owned and operated by an experienced Attorney and CPA. To date we have worked with Intended Parents, Surrogates, Egg Donors and Agencies in over a dozen countries.