Donor Conception Solicitors
For same-sex couples, artificial insemination using donor sperm is a popular route to becoming parents.
In the UK, same-sex couples have two main options for donor conception: using donated sperm through a HFEA-licensed clinic or by insemination at home. However, your relationship status and the method you choose can have significant implications when it comes to legal parenthood.
Contact our fertility law solicitors
If you are ready to start a family using donor conception, our experienced fertility law solicitors are here to help. Call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.
What is donor conception?
In donor conception, eggs, sperm or embryos from donors are used to help with conception. It can be used when heterosexual couples are unable to conceive, or when a person does not have a partner, or a same-sex couple wishes to start a family.
How our fertility law solicitors can help
Donor conception law is complex. If you’re thinking of conceiving a child with donated sperm or if you want advice on becoming a legal parent of a child conceived using a surrogate, our specialist fertility lawyers can advise you on what to do next and guide you through the process.
Our specialist Fertility Law team can help with:
- Advising parties on what they might want to include in a donor agreement or pre-conception agreement
- Advising on the surrogacy or donor journey
- Advising on the legal implications of being a donor and/or surrogate
- Helping you understand your legal rights as an intended parent or co-parent
- Advising you on UK and international surrogacy, including applying for a Parental Order
- Resolving parentage disputes
Legal parentage in donor conception
Couples who are married or in a civil partnership
If you conceive using donated sperm, you will both become the child’s legal parents at the time of conception. However, the child must be conceived by artificial insemination, either at a UK fertility clinic or by private arrangement (for example, with a male friend acting as the known sperm donor).
The spouse (other parent) will be named on the birth certificate and have full parental rights and legal responsibilities.
Couples who are not married or in a civil partnership
If you’re not married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception, you can still become joint parents. However, the way in which you conceive your child will differ.
Crucially, if you are not married or in a civil partnership, you can only conceive at a licensed UK fertility clinic if you both wish to be the legal parents of the child from conception. This means that home insemination isn’t an option for you. Before you start treatment, the clinic will ask you both to sign forms consenting to the non-birth mother being named on the birth certificate and becoming the child’s legal parent.
These forms can’t be signed after donor conception, during the pregnancy or following the child’s birth, so you must be trying to conceive together from the outset.
You can still opt for home insemination or use a clinic outside of the UK, but the other parent will have no parental rights and must apply to adopt the child.
Why choose Barcan+Kirby’s fertility law solicitors?
Our fertility lawyers have several years of experience helping families navigate the complex area of donor conception and fertility law.
We are recognised as one of the leading family law practices in the South West, having achieved top rankings in legal directories, Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners UK.
Several members of our team have a Children Law Accreditation from The Law Society, meaning they are authorised to represent children, parents and relatives in childcare proceedings.
Several of our lawyers are also Resolution-accredited, specialising in private children law and domestic abuse cases, allowing them to offer effective representation for disputes between parents or other parties.
We are independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
In addition to fertility law, our Family team can advise you on:
- Divorce and separation
- Civil partnership dissolution
- Children law
- Domestic abuse
- Surrogacy and surrogacy disputes
- Cohabitation law
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
Donor conception FAQs
If you donate sperm through a licensed UK clinic, you won’t have parental responsibility for any child conceived using your sperm. Donors cannot be asked to support that child financially, and will not be named on the birth certificate.
You will have much less protection if you’re donating informally or as part of a private agreement. If the recipient is married or in a civil partnership and both she and her partner are the child’s legal parents, you’ll have no financial or parental responsibility. This is because the child can only have two legal parents.
However, if the non-birth mother isn’t the legal parent and isn’t named on the birth certificate, you (the donor) will be the legal father of any child conceived using your donation.
For more information about sperm donor rights and legal parenthood, read this blog.
Legal parenthood determines whether you have financial responsibility for a child and whether they receive your nationality and any inheritance you may leave. Legal parenthood is not the same as parental responsibility, which relates to day-to-day decisions about a child’s life.
Once a donor-conceived child reaches the age of 18, they are legally allowed to find out the identity of the sperm donor who donated to their parent(s).
Children conceived through a HFEA clinic are given information about their donor, but this depends on their age. For example, at 16, they can find out details about the donor’s appearance, family history and year of birth. At 18, they can learn the donor’s full name, most recent address and date of birth. Parents of donor-conceived children can never access this information.
It is the child’s right to contact the sperm donor, but you are not legally obliged to respond.
Yes, you can donate sperm to a family member; however, there are restrictions on mixing the eggs and sperm of close family members, e.g. siblings.
Contact our donor conception solicitors
Our fertility law solicitors work with clients across the UK from our offices in Bristol and the surrounding area, in Bedminster, Bishopston, Bristol city centre, Kingswood and Thornbury.
For an informal chat about donor conception, call us on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.