Alternative Family Law

Andrea Woelke is now a consultant at the Central London law firm Josiah-Lake Gardiner and therefore Alternative Family Law remains a website providing information on English family law. At Josiah-Lake Gardiner Andrea Woelke can advise you on English and international family law and represent you in court proceedings in England and Wales.

The team at Josiah-Lake Gardiner complements and supports Andrea’s work with partners David Josiah-Lake and Rebecca Gardiner, solicitor George Davies, trainee Ruth Mabhula and paralegal Ayush Gurung.

Alternative Family Law is not a law firm.

Fertility Law

Fertility law in England & Wales is almost all made by Acts of Parliament. It is not always logical for the lay person. On our website you find free information about who the legal parents are of a child who has been conceived other than through sexual intercourse, whether in a clinic (in the UK or abroad) or at home, which is not uncommon when lesbian couples co-parent with a gay friend or ask a friend for a private sperm donation. The most important point is to distinguish between who the legal parents of the child are on the one hand and who has parental responsibility on the other hand. You can also find detailed information about surrogacy including international surrogacy and the process of applying for a parental order, which we can help you with.

International Family Law

International family law cases can be quite tricky to get their head around for lay people and even for non-specialist lawyers. Overlooking the international aspects of a case can have far reaching consequences, especially when it comes to financial outcomes. If a divorce can be started in more than one EU Country, wherever it is started first, that is where it will remain. Since Brexit, however, English courts have a discretion on whether to continue with a competing divorce in England or stay the application. Even prenuptial agreements made in other countries and which are binding there, may not be followed by the English courts. On the other hand, courts in other countries may never take into account inherited assets, or maintenance may be very limited. If the divorce happens in one country and there is a property in another, it may be difficult to enforce a sale ordered by the court.

For lesbians & gay men the way their relationship is regarded in other countries may not be the same as in England & Wales. They should consider the international aspects of their civil partnership or marriage.

When parents want to move children abroad, they usually need the permission of the other parent or the court. If they move a child abroad without this, the child may be returned under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.