From single-parent families to “blended” or extended family units, whether they be same-sex parents or opposite-sex parents, the concept of the “nuclear family” has become less prevalent, and less apt, to describe modern families in the 21st century. Today’s modern family structures include those where children are created through assisted reproductive technologies and encompass sperm/ egg/embryo donation, or children born via a surrogate or are adopted. Despite dedicated legislation in the form of HEFA 1990 and 2008, the law is in a permanent state of catch-up with the advances in medical reproductive technologies. Novel legal issues are emerging, which the law has had to respond to, and grapple with.

Jennifer Lee, barrister at Pump Court Chambers, together with Sarah Williams, Legal Director and Head of Surrogacy, Adoption, Fertility & Modern Family at the leading family law firm Payne Hicks Beach, discusses modern family creation and the legal implications of donor insemination in this latest article, first published in ThoughtLeaders4 HNW Divorce Magazine (Issue 3), and reproduced with their kind permission.

To read the article in full please click here.