Category: Modern family law

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19
Aug
2024

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law

Rise in DNA tests being used to claim citizenship of other countries

Louisa Ghevaert was pleased to feature in an article in The Guardian on 18 August 2024 about the legalities associated with DNA testing and applications to rectify an inaccurate or incomplete birth certificate. The article discusses how increasing numbers of people are taking DNA tests to explore their ancestral heritage, uncover unknown aspects of their personal identity or trace parents, siblings and new relatives. Added to this, people are now using DNA tests to apply for citizenship in another country.

21
Jun
2024

Blog, embryo law, fertility law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, News, Parenting law

Resolution’s Modern Families Forum 2024

Louisa Ghevaert attended Resolution's Modern Families Forum 2024 on 20 June 2024 and had the privilege of meeting Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond DBE and listening to her keynote address on the legal recognition of “family” from the 1960s to the present day. Lady Hale successfully broke through the glass ceiling and was the first woman President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020. In meeting Lady Hale, Louisa was privileged to discuss her legal involvement and the transformational outcome of Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14, which was Lady Hale's last case in the Supreme Court and enabled the recovery of damages for fertility treatment, donor conception and surrogacy following medical negligence.

17
May
2024

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law

Gender Dysphoria, Puberty Blockers and Hormone Replacement Therapy: Treatment of A Young Person

Gender dsyphoria can raise challenging issues emotionally, medically and legally when individuals seek to transition from female to male, male to female or assume a non-binary identity. The recent gender dysphoria case involving a young person aged 16 1/2 seeking cross-hormone therapy treatment Re J (Transgender: Puberty Blocker and Hormone Replacement Therapy) [2024] EWHC 922 brings into sharp focus complex and evolving issues around capacity and consent to medical treatment and the extent to which the court should intervene and override consent by an over-16-year-old but under 18-year-old.

13
May
2024

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, Parenting law

Declaration of Parentage: Will This Rectify My Birth Certificate?

Cases involving enquiries about birth/biological parents and decisions to rectify a birth certificate often require a great deal of care and consideration. They can upend established family history and introduce unexpected narratives about unplanned pregnancy, love affairs, failed relationships, adoption, loss and death. They can uncover fertility fraud or even egg, sperm or embryo mix-ups at fertility clinics. They can also create complex issues with genetic relatives and legal family members, intermingled with complex emotional dynamics (shock, anger, shame, grief, fear, rejection, happiness and acceptance).

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