Mehvish Chaudhry, instructed by Mills & Reeve, acted for J and B, the First and Second Respondents in F v J & Ors [2024] EWHC 2802 (Fam); an application by father for contact and parental responsibility, where mother’s wife also had parental responsibility.
The case involved an 11-month-old boy, L, conceived through fertility treatment at a UK clinic. The biological parents, F (the father) and J (the mother), were childhood friends who had previously discussed having a child together. In 2018, J, then in a relationship with T, approached F to be a sperm donor, but he declined, desiring an active parental role. By 2020, J and F revisited the idea, agreeing that F would be involved as a father. However, due to clinic regulations, F remained a donor on official documents to avoid delaying treatment. J’s relationship with T ended, and she later partnered with B. The trio attempted to cohabit and co-parent, but disagreements led to F moving out shortly before L’s birth. Subsequent conflicts resulted in J and B limiting F’s contact with L.
F sought a child arrangements order and parental responsibility. The court, considering expert testimony and the child’s welfare, granted F contact on an alternate monthly basis, progressing to monthly contact after 12 months. The application for parental responsibility was denied.
