Fertility Timeline Planner

Not sure? IUI is the most common starting point; your clinic workup will guide this.

Estimated prep time
First attempt around

Estimates assume no major complications and reasonably available professionals. Every arrangement varies; treat this as a planning skeleton, not a schedule.

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Why the order matters

Almost every expensive mistake in elective co-parenting comes from doing steps out of order: creating embryos before an agreement exists, agreeing to a custody split before a financial disclosure, or starting clinic treatment before parentage law in your state has been checked. The sequence this planner produces puts the cheap, reversible steps (conversations, education, vetting) before the expensive, irreversible ones (contracts, medical treatment, conception), the same order a good fertility attorney would insist on.

The step most people skip is the mediated conversation before drafting. An hour or two with a family mediator surfaces disagreements while they're still theoretical, and makes the attorney drafting phase dramatically cheaper because you arrive aligned. More on the agreement process.

Related: How to find a co-parent · Compatibility checklist · Cost calculator