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31
Mar
2022

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.

03
Feb
2022

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.

17
Jan
2022

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.

12
Jan
2022

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.

30
Nov
2021

Declaration of Parentage: resolving family ancestry, questions about parentage and birth certificates

Millions of people around the world are embracing direct-to-consumer DNA tests to explore personal ancestry and resolve issues about genetic identity, parentage and status. They can create complex issues about biological and legal parentage as increasing numbers of people seek to resolve their parentage under English law and rectify birth certificates. This is in turn bringing into focus the significance of applications for Declarations of Parentage in the English Family Court.

08
Nov
2021

The Mail On Sunday: Surrogacy and Later-Life Parenthood in the UK

Louisa Ghevaert features in The Mail on Sunday (7 November 2021) about parents undertaking surrogacy later in life and trends in later-life parenthood. The article looks at the ages of those embarking on parenthood today and whether there are age limits for those building families through surrogacy.

29
Oct
2021

The Future of The Family Justice System: Remote Court Hearings

Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, delivered a speech on 16 October 2021 addressing the future of the Family Justice System in England and Wales as we continue to navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic. In doing so, he looked at the future mechanics of court hearings in the Family Division, well-being of all those who work in the Family Court and the Court of Protection and the future of digital reform.

13
Oct
2021

BBC World Service Interview: The economics of older mums

During a BBC World Service interview with Zoe Kleinman on 12 October 2021, Louisa Ghevaert was pleased to join the debate about why many women are delaying motherhood, how technology is helping, what the law says about all things fertility and the workplace and how things have changed over the last decade.

08
Oct
2021

Creating Happy Families

A recent large-scale Japanese study has found that couples in long-term relationships develop noticeable biological similarities. It reports that their bodies synchronize on a deep biological level, which bolsters health deep into old age for those in happy relationships, whilst exacerbating health problems for others. These findings bring into focus the importance of proactively managing our relationships, personal lives, family building and reproductive choices. Building a happy and stable relationship and family life influences not just us as individuals, but also our children and wider family and friends.

17
Sep
2021

Plans to extend legal storage limits for eggs, sperm and embryos

On 6 September 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care announced its proposal to extend legal storage limits for eggs, sperm and embryos in the UK for everyone, regardless of medical need, to 10-year renewable storage periods, with a maximum limit of 55 years. The proposed legislation will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.

02
Sep
2021

The International Family Law Practice Sixth Edition

Louisa Ghevaert is delighted to contribute a specialist chapter on surrogacy law to leading practitioner textbook The International Family Law Practice Sixth Edition 2021. This newly updated reference work provides comprehensive coverage of the international elements of English Family Law and relevant source material. Increasing globalisation and international movement of parents, children and families, combined with rapid changes and legal developments means that complex international legal and practical issues frequently arise in practice.

20
Aug
2021

Donor sperm DNA ancestry information available at California Cryobank

Generate Life Sciences has recently announced that it will now in a first-of-its-kind service provide DNA-based donor ancestry information at its donor sperm bank, California Cryobank, directly to would-be parents and donor-conceived children. Prospective parents, including international clients in the UK, Australia, Canada and others, will be able to access DNA ancestry test results before selecting a sperm donor. Donor-conceived children will also be able to access this information to learn more about their genetic heritage.

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