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Children disputes can concern who a child should live with, who a child has contact with, or specific issues about things like medical treatment and schooling. If a dispute cannot be resolved, mediation must now be considered as the first legal step; the parties must attend a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) before they can issue court proceedings. Find out more about mediation. If mediation does not resolve things, an application can be made to the family cou...
There are sometimes disagreements about the status an adult has in relation to a child. Disputes about parenthood Whether someone is a legal parent affects whether they are financially responsible for a child, and what rights they have. Disputes about parenthood might involve a question of fact (for example who is the biological father of a naturally conceived child) or a legal question (for example whether someone is the legal parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction - find o...
Particular issues arise for lesbian parents who separate, because the law on same-sex parenting has changed so much over the past 10 years, and because the dynamic always involves unequal biological status. Arrangements for children If living and contact arrangements cannot be agreed after separation, the family court will need to make a decision. Find out more about how the court deals with disputes about child arrangements. Lesbian parents often want to know whether the fact th...
Disputes about the donor or co-parent's role Disputes sometimes arise in known donation and co-parenting arrangements about the nature of the donor or co-parent's role. This might involve questions about the frequency, purpose or nature of contact, or about whether a donor/co-parent should have parental responsibility. Such disputes have historically involved known sperm donors/co-parent fathers seeking a greater role, but similar issues could also apply in respect of known egg dono...
Legal parents (and in some cases step-parents) have a duty to provide for their children financially. For parents who are separating this usually means that the parent who is not living with the child should contribute financially to the child's care. This might take the form of regular maintenance payments and/or the provision of assets or capital lump sums (such as providing a home). The law can be more complex for separating parents who have children conceived through assisted reproduc...
Those considering surrogacy often worry about surrogacy agreements not being binding, and fear what might happen if the surrogate did not hand over the baby at birth. Equally many surrogates fear that the intended parents will not assume responsibility for their child. In fact, serious disputes of this kind between parents and surrogates are very rare. There have been only three UK reported cases dealing with UK surrogacy arrangements in which the surrogate has not handed the baby over at...
Parents who have obtained a UK parental order will be recognised as joint legal parents of their child by UK law and will share parental responsibility. If they separate, they should be treated in exactly the same way as any other natural or adoptive parents. In the case of G v G (2011) a father through surrogacy (who wished to enhance his own position in a separation) attempted to have a parental order overturned on the basis of procedural irregularities and the fact that his wife ha...
Richard's article, published in The Review (journal for family lawyers) in October 2013, looks at how fertility law affects things for couples breaking up, including parenthood issues for parents through donation and surrogacy, same-sex parents and embryo disputes
Richard's article, published in Bionews in June 2013, looks at the case of Re E and F (2013), in which a lesbian non-birth mother was held not to be a legal parent of her twin children, because procedures at the clinic had not been followed properly to nominate her as a parent.
Jenni Murray on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour discusses known sperm donation and what can go wrong with Natalie Gamble and Laura Witjens from the NGDT
Natalie's article, written for fertility patients and published in the Infertility Network UK magazine in summer 2012, looks at the impact of fertility treatment on relationships and disputes in relation to embryos and children where couples break up.
Sarah's article, published in Bionews in May 2012, looks at the law for lesbian parents whose relationships are breaking down.
Natalie's comment piece for Bionews, published in November 2010, looks at the case of T v B and reflects on why the changes recognising lesbian couples as legal parents are so important.
Natalie's article, published in Family Law (leading journal for family lawyers) in November 2010, looks at the case of T v B which held that a lesbian non-birth mother was not financially responsible for her child.
Natalie's article, written for fertility patients and published in the Infertility Network UK magazine in autumn 2010, looks at the case of T v B (2010) and explains its significance for lesbian parents.
The High Court ordered a 15 month old girl to live with her biological father and his partner after finding that the birth mother had deceived them about her intentions to hand over the child and then launched a determined campaign to exclude them from the baby's life
This is the form you use to apply to court for a child arrangements order. This might be used in disputed situations or as a means of acquiring parental responsibility where everyone agrees.
The government provides a useful online calculator which can be used to apply the child maintenance rules to particular circumstances.
Richard's article, published in Gay Star News in July 2014, looks at the law for gay and lesbian couples who break up
The Court of Appeal upheld an appeal from a lesbian non-birth mother who had been denied residence of her twin children. The court said that insufficient account had been taken of the fact that she was the biological mother and too much weight placed on the fact that she was not a legal parent.
A married woman had met a sperm donor via an Internet matching site and conceived a child. She pursued her child's biological father for child support, and there was a dispute over whether conception took place by artificial insemination or 'natural insemination'. After a fact-finding hearing, the court found that conception had taken place through intercourse and held the donor liable for child support and substantial legal costs.
The High Court held that a lesbian non-birth mother was not a parent after the couple failed to follow the correct procedures at the clinic to nominate her as a legal parent.
In a dispute over child support between former lesbian partners, the court was unable to make an order for the non-birth mother to provide financial support, because she was not a legal parent and not the birth mother's civil partner.
This House of Lords decision concerned a dispute between former lesbian partners about who their children should live with. Although care was awarded to the birth/biological mother, Baroness Hale made important comments about how the court should look at all forms of parenthood: biological, gestational and pyschological.
This is the law which governs applications to the court concerning arrangements for children (see section 8-10), and applications for financial provision (Schedule 1).
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