Anest Mathias

Practice Areas

Anest has a wide range of experience in divorce and separation including finances upon divorce, financial provision for unmarried couples and children and disputes as to the ownership of property.

Anest advises parents and other family members about the arrangements for their children including cases where there are allegations of implacable hostility or international dimensions.

Anest represents both parties in applications for non-molestation orders and occupation orders, having obtained such orders and resisted the making of them.

Anest has a particular specialism in fertility, surrogacy and modern parenting law and advises heterosexual and same sex couples as well as individuals seeking to create their family. She is experienced in international and domestic surrogacy arrangements. She advises intended parents and donors as to their legal parenthood status. She has represented parties in applications for declarations of parentage following conception using donor sperm both at a HFEA licensed clinic and outside the clinic. Anest advises about co-parenting arrangements and agreements. Anest has represented a client whose clinic refused to provide treatment on welfare of the child grounds. Anest’s cases have been reported in the law reports as well as the national media.

Anest is a committed member of Resolution and approaches matters in a constructive and non-confrontational away. When children are involved she seeks to encourage parties to take a child-centred approach to secure the best outcome for their child.

As a former member of the Executive Committee of the British Infertility Counselling Association, Anest has an understanding of the impact of the stress of infertility on a person’s health and she regularly signposts clients for support when needed.

Career

Anest qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and joined our Family Finance team as a senior solicitor in 2020. Anest advises married and unmarried couples on all aspects of private family law.

Professional Memberships

- Member of Resolution.

- Member of the Modern Parenting Networking Group.

Accreditations:

- The Law Society Family Law Advanced Accreditation.

Publications

Anest has written articles for Family Law Journal, Bionews and the Journal of Infertility Counselling. She is the author of the Resolution Guide to Good Practice in Fertility Cases.

Work Highlights

Notable cases:

- Re M [2013] EWHC 1901 (Fam) representing the husband in an application for a declaration of parentage. Mr Justice Jackson held that a “donor” was the father of a child where the child was conceived through natural insemination.

- Re A and others (Legal Parenthood: Written Consents) [2015] EWHC 2602 (Fam), [2016] 1 WLR 1325 representing one of the applicants on a declaration of parentage where a child was conceived using sperm donation at a HFEA licensed clinic but where the requisite consents for her female partner to become the child’s parent were not held on the patient’s file.

- Re the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Case O) [2016] EWHC 2273 (Fam) successfully representing the application in a declaration of parentage and revocation of an adoption order. The then President of the Family Division considered:

“The present case is unprecedented, indeed far removed on its facts from any of the previously reports cases.”

Other notable cases include:

- Securing 70% of the net matrimonial assets for a wife following her divorce.

- Resisting an application for the order for sale of a jointly owned property which was purchased to house the parties’ disabled daughter.

- Representing a husband where there were significant inherited assets in Spain.

- Successfully opposing a mother’s application to relocate to Italy with their daughter.

- Obtaining permission for a mother to relocate to Ireland with their son, such permission having previously been refused.

- Securing a substantial child arrangements order for a father where the mother had suspended contact making allegations that the father was violent, had psychological difficulties and had substance misuse issues.