Family Law Insights and Guides Modern Families Law Blog

In April 2025, Mrs Justice Theis was yet again presented with a problematic case of international surrogacy involving a clinic in Northern Cyprus. In Mr W v Ms S and G [2025] EWFC 85 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2025/85.html the Court considered evidential and procedural problems with the consent given by the surrogate and...

In March of 2026, Mr Justice Cusworth dealt with a case where an otherwise straightforward application for a Parental Order became more complex because of legal requirements in the jurisdiction where the child was born. Re L (S83 Adoption and Children Act 2002 and Surrogacy) [2026] EWFC 181 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2026/181.html...

The short answer is no. As with any ECtHR decision, there is a long history of litigation through the domestic courts before the case reaches the ECtHR, in this case going back to 2018 when Y was refused the right to be registered as 'father' on the birth certificate of the child X, whom Y had given birth to...

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...

In April 2026, Mr Justice Williams took the opportunity to deal with nine separate cases together to reiterate the principles that have to be applied by the Court in applications for parental orders under S54 HFEA 2008 to transfer the legal parenthood of the nine subject children from their respective surrogates to their intended parents. The cases...

The Family Court recently considered this question in the case of Re Y and Z (Surrogacy Death of Intended Parent) [2026] EWFC 135 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2026/135.html where applications were made for parental orders for twins Y and Z, born via surrogacy in Country J using embryos created from A and B's gametes. B, the intended...

This is the question that arose in the High Court in the case of FZ v MZ-[2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam) https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2025/3338.html which is a judgment that was handed down by Mrs Justice Lieven on 18 December 2025. The short answer to the question is 'no' primarily because of the provisions of S12 of the Gender Recognition...

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...