Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Welcome to our early winter! I wanted to let you know that I’ve added the areas of Fertility, Surrogacy and Adoption Law to my Family Mediation and Family Law practice. This is a rapidly evolving and changing area of the law. Increasingly, people are deciding to have children later, thus often necessitating these new ways of procreating. Legal work and legal advice are essential in order to protect both the donors and the donees. I’ve added this practice area so as to be able to assist the increasing number of individuals and partners who have decided to engage in these processes.
“Whom do the eggs belong to?”
In a recent Ontario Court case, S.H. v. D.H., 2018 ONSC 4506, the parties had purchased donor embryos that were in storage at a third party company. Subsequently, they separated. The Respondent – the woman – wanted to have the egg (there was one viable one remaining) so that she could use it to have another child. The Applicant husband objected. The Judge held that the egg was family property and that it was the joint property of the parties and ordered that the wife pay the husband half the price that they had paid to purchase the egg, in order to buy him out. His Honour’s Reasons included that, in his view, the contract the parties had entered into on the purchase of the embryos clearly stated that, if the parties were to separate, the wife would have the right to the eggs. This is an interesting and controversial case. To read the case, press the link here.
In closing, please forward my article and spread the word to your friends and colleagues who would benefit from my expertise in this most important and timely area of the law.
Until next time!
Anne Freed holds a BA (Honours Sociology), JD (Juris Doctor, Law Degree), Master of Laws Degree (LL.M.) in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Advanced Training in Mediation, Arbitration and Collaborative Practice, Certification in Collaborative Practice
© Anne E. Freed, November 2018
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