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Defining parental involvement after non-traditional conception
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Alex Curran
Solicitor Irwin MitchellFamily law practitioners will be all too familiar with the complexities that can arise in the context of the arrangements for children through non-traditional methods. The decision handed down on 13 November by Theis J in
Re X (No 2: Application for Contact by the Biological Father) [2015] EWFC 84 gives a stark warning to any potential client considering starting a family in non-conventional circumstances.
The factsThe application for a Child Arrangements Order before her Ladyship in respect of a young girl of 18 months old was brought by her biological father JK. The three respondents to the application were the child's two mothers (HS and KS) who were in a civil partnership at the time of conception and the young girl herself (X) who was represented by her Rule 16.4 Guardian. X was conceived through artificial insemination at the mothers' home.
HS was the child's birth biological and legal mother. By virtue of section 42(1) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 the mother's civil partner KS was considered as X's 'other parent' ...
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