Modern Families Case Law Blog

Save for the situation where a child is known to be orphaned, the idea of a child having no legal parents is probably difficult to get your head around but it is a situation that has come before the Family Court in 2025 in the case of Re EZ (A Minor) [2025] EWFC 122 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2025/122.html When the Court is presented...

Anonymous surrogacy is a problem that has come before the Courts in a number of cases most recently on 6 February 2025 in the case of Re H (Anonymous Surrogacy) [2025] EWHC 220 (fam) https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2025/220 heard by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane. One of concerns that arises when a surrogate...

This case highlights what can go wrong when intended parents and a surrogate meet on Facebook and enter into a surrogacy arrangement. Re J (A child) (Surrogacy: Adoption Order), [2025] EWHC 2960 (Fam) https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/fam/2025/2960 is the latest in a line of cases where the High Court takes the opportunity to point out...

The legal mother is always the woman who gives birth to a child even if she has no biological connection to the child due to donation of eggs. The case of Re G (Shared Residence Order Biological Mother of Donor Egg) [2014] EWCA Civ 336 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2014/336.html is an example of a case where a lesbian couple had...

Creating a family through surrogacy or any alternative method open to same sex couples is extremely stressful for all the adults involved. Relationships can be put under intense pressure and for some couples the strain simply becomes too much. In 2025, the Family Court dealt with a case where the intended parents split up before the children were...

In the post about whether a surrogacy agreement is enforceable through the courts (short answer is they are not) the Court of Appeal in Re C left open the next stage of the process. The decision that finally settled the arrangements in that case came before Mrs Justice Theis sitting in the Family Court in 2024 and is reported as ...

While it is relatively unusual for a surrogate to change her mind and refuse to hand over a baby at birth, the parental order process to confer legal parentage upon the intended parents requires the surrogate to give her consent unconditionally to an order being made. As such a surrogacy agreement is NOT enforceable in law. An example of...

It is an essential requirement that a surrogate either consents to a parental order being made or that her consent is dispensed with either because she cannot be found or because she lacks capacity to give consent. The case of R & Anor v A & Anor [2024] EWFC 341 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2024/341.html is a decision of the Family...

This question arose in a desperately sad case that came before the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane in September 2024 reported as G v Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority & Anor [2024] EWHC 2453 (Fam) https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2024/2453.html. It is an example of how the strict rules to enable the...

In the last few years, public attention has been increasingly drawn towards the distress of transgender teenagers, particularly following the brutal murder of Brianna Ghey in February 2023. The issue of medication for teenagers with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria has become controversial leading to the Cass Review of Gender Identity Services...

International surrogacy is a process that is fraught with difficulty at the best of times. The hurdles that are often encountered include complications in relation to the jurisdiction where the child is born especially if surrogacy or same sex relationships are not legally recognised in that country, registration of the birth, nationality, entry...

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.