Heidi Burrows writes for Family Law Week on the case of P v Q & F (Child: Legal Parentage) [2024] EWCA Civ 878. This article is available on the Family Law Week Website.
This Court of Appeal judgment concerns an appeal made by the former wife of the biological mother to overturn the biological mother’s successful application which resulted in the High Court making a declaration of parentage that the sperm donor is the child's legal parent (rather than her ex-wife who was previously registered on the child’s birth certificate).
The appeal was dismissed, the article discusses the Court of Appeal’s judgment which considers who bears the burden of proof on an application for a declaration of parentage, which is convoluted if the method of conception is unclear and potentially the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 parenthood conditions are engaged.
This article is available to view on the Family Law Week Website via subscription service here.
Heidi Burrows is a second-six Family Law Pupil. Prior to commencing pupillage, Heidi worked as a senior fee earner at the UK’s first fertility law firm; NGA Law. In this role, Heidi was supervised by the UK’s leading surrogacy lawyer; Natalie Gamble, and gained considerable experience working with modern families in all areas of family law.
