Family proceedings

The Family Division made a declaration of parentage in favour of a father in circumstances where he and his partner had undergone IVF treatment using donor sperm and where they had signed the relevant consent forms. It had later transpired that they had signed consent forms under the “old” scheme, but had commenced treatment after the “new” scheme introduced by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 had come into effect. The court held that the signed forms were sufficient to comply with the requirements of the 2008 Act and operated a valid and effective consent notwithstanding the change in the statutory regime.