Lesbian couples conceiving with known donors or co-parents
If you are conceiving with a known donor or co-parent, it is important to consider what legal status your child's biological father will have, and whether you need to take any steps to manage your situation. The law is complicated, and depends on your status as well as your donor's. 
Lesbian couples: where you are both legal parents
If you are both legal parents (either by law or through adoption), your donor or co-parent will not be your child’s legal father. Click here to find out whether you are both legal parents.
However, although the law is still emerging, it is possible that there may be some scope for a natural father who has no legal parental status to apply to court for rights in relation to your child, particularly if he has had involvement in your child’s upbringing as a co-parent. There may also be scope for you to pursue him financially if he has in practice maintained your child.
Lesbian couples: where only one of you is a legal parent
If you are not both legal parents, whether or not your known donor or co-parent is your child’s legal father will depend on the situation:
- If you conceived at home, the donor will be your child’s legal father.
- If you conceived through a licensed clinic, your known donor’s parenthood status may be excluded by the laws that govern licensed sperm donation, although the position will depend on your particular situation.
If your known donor or co-parent is the legal father, he will be financially responsible for your child and your child will have rights of inheritance from him. If he is not named on the birth certificate he will not, however, have parental responsibility.
A known donor should be involved in any application that you make for adoption, although the extent of his say depends on whether he has parental responsibility.
Lesbian couples: do we need a donor or co-parenting agreement?
A written agreement concerning parenting will not bind the court, but it may be taken into account if a dispute arises.
The weight an agreement is given - and its legal effect - will depend on the underlying law, your particular circumstances and the content of the agreement. To be of the most value, a donor or co-parenting agreement should therefore be drafted according to your particular circumstances and with expert legal help, whether your goal is to exclude your donor’s responsibilities or to set out how you envisage a co-parenting relationship working.
When we help you to prepare a written agreement, our goal is always not just to draft a document for you, but to help you to use your agreement as a means of understanding and managing the law. Drafting the agreement goes hand in hand with discussing with you how the underlying law applies, with a view to helping you to avoid pitfalls and manage your relationship successfully to avoid disputes arising. The process of putting together a written agreement can also be useful in helping to flush out any mismatched expectations between you (which are often the cause of later disputes).
Please contact us if you would like advice on your situation.
