Estate planning for solo parents: A legal case study involving conception via sperm donor 

gunnercooke Partner Amy Lane has acted for a solo woman who was pregnant with her first child via a sperm donor. There are many parents who have become solo parents through circumstance or choice, and this article seeks to provide an overview to solo parents about what they should consider as part of their estate planning.   

Guardianship 

One of the key things to consider as a solo parent is guardianship. Unless someone else has parental responsibility for your child (such as if you are separated from their other parent whose name is registered on their birth certificate), no one else will have parental responsibility for your child if you die.   

What is a guardian? 

A guardian is a person that you appoint in your will (or in writing) to look after your child if you die before your child reaches the age of 18.vWhere there is no other parent with parental responsibility, the guardian is given parental responsibility for your child in the event of your death before your child is 18. The guardian would have the same legal rights and responsibilities as you towards your child until they reached the age of 18.   

Who can be a guardian? 

Anyone, so long as they are 18 or over by the time you die. This could be a family member, close friend or anyone else you feel is appropriate to look after your child. It’s key to choose someone who is best placed to understand your child’s needs so you should consider someone who has a close connection to your child and would give effect to your wishes about their upbringing after death.  

What happens if I do not appoint a guardian?  

For solo parents, as there would be no surviving parent, the Court would decide who to appoint as the guardian for your child. This could be someone who you would not have chosen such as an estranged family member.  

Your estate 

Who manages my estate for my child? 

Under a Will, it’s nominated executors and trustees. The executors administer your estate as per the terms of your Will and the trustees then hold the estate for your child’s benefit. You can have different executors and trustees if you want to.  

It’s often (but not always) sensible to appoint the guardian as an executor and trustee as they are best placed to know what the financial needs of your child(ren) are. That being said, your trustees would need to consult with the guardian in any event to know what the child’s financial needs were.  

What if I do not leave a Will?  

Your estate would pass to your child(ren) under the intestacy provisions (a set of rules which set out where your estate goes if you die without a Will) where you die unmarried or not in a civil partnership.   

The intestacy provisions also set out who can apply for the Grant of Representation (the same as a Grant of Probate) in your estate to hold the assets on your child’s behalf. Again, this may be someone you wouldn’t choose such as estranged family members.  

How do I structure my Will? 

It depends. You could include an age contingent trust which says they get it at 18, 21, 25. There’s usually powers for the money to be applied for your child’s benefit before then for maintenance and education in the Will, and those powers are confirmed in statute too, unless excluded by the Will.  

The other common alternative is a discretionary trust. This is where the trustees have complete discretion as to when and how much your child inherits.  This can be useful where you have concerns about your child’s ability to manage large sums or where they have learning difficulties.  

Does a Will cover me becoming incapacitated?  

No.  

What does? 

Powers of attorney. They allow the appointed attorneys to make decisions for you, should you become unable to do so. In your situation, there’s no other parent with financial means to support your child if no one can access your finances.   

Powers of attorney would allow named attorneys to access your funds and ensure that there was no disruption caused to your child at what could already be an upsetting time for them. This would allow the continuous payments of your mortgage, utilities, education costs etc and provide stability for your child if you were to lose capacity.  

Amy Lane is a Private Client Partner at gunnercooke specialisingin the legal complexities surrounding families created through assisted conception and surrogacy. She has more than a decade of experience in complex estate and succession planning, Amy advises intended parents, donors and wider family members on how to protect their legal, financial and parental interests through properly regulated arrangements. Amy is committed to raising awareness of the role that formal estate planning plays for modern families formed through fertility treatment or surrogacy, ensuring clarity around legal parenthood, guardianship, and inheritance rights. 

You can read more about her work here.