MG and another v JF and another

Family proceedings – Costs. Private law family proceedings were taking place in which the sperm donor father, who was registered on the birth certificate, sought contact with the child after the relationship between him and the two parents had broken down. The child had been born into a relationship between two women. In the proceedings, the child was in receipt of legal aid funding, but none of the adults was. The two women sought a costs allowance to be paid by the father. The Family Division, having considered the circumstances of the parties, ordered that the father pay 80% of the claims of each of the women and 80% of all future professional costs in respect of therapeutic work. The costs of expert evidence were to be paid for by the child, charged to his legal aid certificate.