Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

Trends in Surrogacy Law and Family Building in 2022 in England and Wales

The latest Family Court (England and Wales) Quarterly Statistics have just been published by the Ministry of Justice for October to December 2021. They provide useful information about trends in surrogacy. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw an upwards trend in surrogacy. However, for a second year running there has now been a five percent decline in the numbers of parental orders granted compared with pre-pandemic surrogacy activity. This correlates with an overall decline in birth rates in England and Wales in 2020, whilst the total fertility rate in England and Wales also reached a record low in 2020 according to recent statistics released by The Office for National Statistics.

International surrogacy law: legal parentage, citizenship, time limits and parental orders

The recent case of Re X, Y and Z (Children: Parental Orders: Time Limit) [2022] highlights the very real legal issues and problems that can arise when intended parents enter into international surrogacy arrangements. In Re X, the intended parents experienced unforeseen difficulties with their three US surrogate born children’s legal parentage, citizenship and residence when they encountered a different system of law in Denmark where they were living. They also had to navigate complex legal issues whilst applying for parental orders in the English Family Court to resolve their children’s legal parentage and legally secure their children’s care arrangements upon relocating to the UK.

Egg and Sperm Donation: Identity Issues, Anonymity, Disputes and the Law

Over the last two decades we have seen growing uptake of egg and sperm donation. Advances in reproductive technology, evolving social attitudes, changes in the law and the internet have expanded our reproductive options and approaches to family building. However, mismatched expectations, gaps in legal understanding, lack of ground rules, poor communication and changes in personal situations and relationships can create unwanted tension and disputes following egg and sperm donation.

Fertility Law, Family Building and Modern Family Relationships in 2022

The start of 2022 brings new opportunity to revisit future family building plans and re-imagine family relationships. Family creation and the achievement of a happy and stable family life remains a central goal for many people. However, modern expectations about family building and family life continue to challenge and outpace legal frameworks. This can create legal parentage gaps, problems with birth certificates and a lack of legal parental responsibility powers for parents with which to safeguard their children’s upbringing.

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