When a child is conceived in a licensed clinic there are strict rules that have to be complied with to confirm the status of legal parent on the second parent. This requires the licensed clinic to complete all necessary paperwork correctly particularly to ensure that all involved adults are giving informed consent to the process and giving notice...
If you are thinking of creating a family through a surrogacy arrangement overseas, it is essential to take expert legal advice before embarking on this journey. C & Anor v E (International Surrogacy and Domestic Adoption) [2025] EWFC 68 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2025/68.html is a recent example of a case where the intended...
Where a child is conceived outside of a licensed clinic, working out who are the legal parents of a child depends on the circumstances of conception and whether the mother is married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception. The crucial distinction between artificial insemination (AI) and natural insemination (NI) will determine if...
Cases that end up in the Family Court are generally the result of a breakdown in adult family relationships. Where a family has been created outside of the heteronormative model, cracks can emerge when expectations are not fulfilled or have been misunderstood. This case is an example where the three parent model just did not work in practice.
In July 2025 Mrs Justice Theis handed down a Family Court judgment in a child contact dispute following the breakdown of the relationship of the intended parents during the course of a surrogacy arrangement in C v D [2025] EWFC 196 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2025/196.html The case concerned twins X and Y, aged 4, conceived via...
In June 2026, Mr Justice Peel handed down judgment in PP & QQ and RR [2026] EWFC 172 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2026/172.pdf which is an example of the options open to the Court to overcome problems in a Parental Order application where the evidence shows that the S54 criteria cannot be met after proceedings have commenced. The case...
