Single women
Many single women are now choosing to conceive as solo mothers, whether through licensed clinics or through informal arrangements with friends or known sperm donors.
Single women: conceiving with a sperm bank donor
If you conceive with a sperm bank donor through a licensed clinic, your donor will not be the legal father and you will be your child’s only legal parent at birth. When you register the birth, your name will be recorded on the long birth certificate as your child’s mother, and the father’s details section will simply be left blank.
If your child was conceived since 1991, he/she will as an adult have rights to find out information about the donor, and about any genetic half-siblings conceived by other families using the same donor. Find out more.
Single women: conceiving with a known donor or co-parent
If you conceive with a friend, known donor or co-parent, the legal position is more complex. Find out more.
Single women: still married?
If you are considering starting a family through donor conception by yourself but you are still married, you need to take care. The law provides that the husband of a married woman who conceives through artificial insemination is the legal father of her child, and this could give your husband status as your child’s legal father. If you are conceiving with a licensed sperm bank donor, this could mean that you are not your child’s only legal parent. If you are conceiving with a co-parent, this could exclude the status of your child’s natural father.
If you want to start trying to conceive while you are still married, you need to consider how to handle matters with your husband, and whether you want to put in place legal paperwork to help protect you against any possible future dispute. Please contact us for further advice.
Single women: conceiving abroad?
Only conceptions that take place at licensed clinics in the UK are recorded by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), giving your child, in later life, the right to find out more about your donor, and any other donor-conceived children conceived with his sperm. Conceptions with donor sperm that take place outside the UK are not recorded by the HFEA, so conceiving abroad may limit your child’s ability to find out information about your donor in later life.
Single women: conceiving with donor eggs?
If you are conceiving with donor eggs, you (as the carrying mother) will be treated as your child’s legal mother for all purposes. This is because the law provides that a woman who carries a child is the legal mother.
Single women: the importance of a well-drafted will
You should always put in place a will when you start a family, but if you will be your child’s sole legal parent, it is even more important. Your will can nominate someone to care for your child in the event of your death, and can create appropriate trusts to look after your assets for your child until he/she is sufficiently mature to receive them.
Single women: how can we help?
Please feel free to contact us if you would like our help with:
- advising you on how the law applies,
- helping you manage the legal position if you are still married,
- explaining the legal position of your donor/co-parent,
- helping you to put in place a donor agreement, or to manage a co-parenting arrangement,
- representing you in any dispute with a known donor/co-parent or
- preparing a will for you.
