Donor conception and assisted reproduction law services

We have years of experience finding legal solutions for parents creating families in different ways

Legal security for your family

 

We have unmatched UK experience working with LGBT+ parents and those conceiving through assisted reproduction and through donor conception and co-parenting.

We can help you understand and manage the law to ensure the family you are creating is secure and protected.

Donor conception and co-parenting legal advice

 

We can explain who will be your child’s legal parents under UK law, and how to secure your family’s status.

We work with many LGBT+ parents, including same-sex parents and transgender parents, as well as those conceiving through known donation, co-parenting or in polyamorous relationships.

Pre-conception donor agreements and co-parenting agreements 

 

If you are building your family through known donation or co-parenting, a pre-conception agreement will help you set strong foundations.

We offer a template agreement you can complete yourselves, or a full pre-conception planning service which includes a legal advice consultation and bespoke agreement.

Legal help with stored eggs, sperm and embryos

We can help you with any legal issues which arise in relation to stored eggs, sperm or embryos.

We have managed some of the key cases which shaped UK law on posthumous conception and embryo storage, and offer highly-specialist legal advice and representation in this area of law.

Birth certificates and British nationality for children born abroad

LGBT+ parents and other different families with children born overseas are not always able to be registered on their child’s local birth certificate.  We can help with securing UK consular birth certificates and British nationality for children born abroad.

Specialist wills

Our easy remote wills service helps you to protect your family. If your parenthood status is not straightforward, you can rely on our experience to help you cover the gaps.

Declaration of parentage applications

Sometimes court orders are needed to confirm legal parenthood. It might be because your parenthood is in question and needs resolving, or because you need a document from a court to prove it.

We have acted in a range of law-shaping cases, including cases where:

  • UK fertility clinics have got legal parenthood forms for sperm donation wrong,
  • adopted adults have sought to confirm the identity of their birth parents, and
  • LGBT+ parents have needed a UK court order to secure parentage or nationality for their child in another country.

What our clients say to us…

I really do think of how much you helped and advised me back when I was tying to find my way forward in all of the difficult paperwork side of things.  Also, the support and guidance you gave on our call, meant so much and I still think of you as being part of how we all got here. Thank you forever from the bottom of my heart.

2020 has been a hard and emotional year for me but thanks to your support and advice, it was also a year that I could breathe without fearing I was doing something in the wrong way. You really made things go easier than I had anticipated and your professional and caring guidance was truly appreciated!

I would like to thank everyone at NGA for handling our case in a very thoughtful way. You are, indeed, very special people in the sector.

Thanks to you my daughter has a chance of a “full” brother or sister. You are amazing and I am sure many of your clients feel the way I do and are eternally grateful. 

I am thrilled – it would never have happened without you.

Thanks again for your superb service.

How we have made a difference to conception law

2015

Recognising LGBT+ parents in UK passport applications

After a national charity flagged that the guidance accompanying UK passport application forms did not include families conceived through gamete donation or same-sex parents, we were asked to help re-write it for the Passport Office. The guidance we wrote is still part of the booklet which comes with every UK passport application form.

2009

Changing the law on embryo storage

We successfully lobbied the government to make special legal provision for embryos created by women who could not carry a pregnancy, thereby rescuing dozens of ‘out of time’ embryos which risked being destroyed.

2008

Legal recognition for same-sex parents

Our founder Natalie Gamble was a leading voice in the fight to win legal parenthood for same-sex parents. Interviewed as an expert across the media and quoted extensively in the House of Commons, her contribution was subsequently recognised with a Stonewall Hero of the Year Award nomination and an invitation to meet the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street.

Pieces we’ve written about donor conception and assisted reproduction

Rainbow connections:

How to build strong foundations for known donation and co-parenting

Fertility Road, 2017

When fathers are mothers:

The absurdity of UK law which excludes trans parents

The Review, 2020

Why the UK government should modernise the law on embryo and gamete storage

Bionews, 2020

Need more information?

Browse our Knowledge Centre

Our free online Knowledge Centre contains legal guidance and links to resources you may need

Still have questions?

 

If you need legal advice or want to make an appointment, feel free to get in touch.

We are here to help however we can.