Mother –v- Non-Parent
Interestingly, in the recent decision in the case of Withall, Richardson and Powles, where the matter at hand was determining with whom the children should live, Walters J ordered that the children live with Ms Powles, the father’s former de facto partner, instead of their mother.
His Honour discussed the weight that should be applied to submissions by either biological parent of the children when determining where they live, however in this case he ultimately determined the children should live with Ms Powles.
Review the full case by clicking the following link:
Artificial Conception/Sperm Donor “Parent” under the Family Law Act?
In this case, a child was born to the mother as a result of an artificial insemination procedure using donated sperm. Despite the mother becoming pregnant with the intention of becoming a single parent to the child, the Court rejected her submissions that the child’s biological father was not a ‘parent’ as the term is defined in the legislation. In his judgment, Cronin J found that despite the mother’s initial intentions, the biological father of the child fit within the definition of ‘parent’ under the legislation and the logical conclusions was that he was the parent of the child.
Review the full case by clicking the following link:
Overseas Surrogacy – Declaration of Parentage
Twin boys were conceived and born in India through a surrogate mother, organised by an Australian de facto couple consisting of two males. The sperm from one of the male de facto partners was paired with an anonymous egg from a donor, and inseminated into the Indian birth mother.
The issue for the Court’s consideration was an application made by the biological father of the children and his former de facto partner to the Court to make a declaration of ‘parentage’.
The Court found that it could make a parenting order, as the applicant was the children’s biological father, however a declaration of parentage could not be made as the powers to determine parentage for children born from surrogacy arrangements fall to individual states, and an order declaring parentage would need to be made by the relevant Court under the Surrogacy Act.
Review the full case by clicking the following link:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgibin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/FamCA/2013/424.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=title(“2013%20Fa
CA%20424″)
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