“Who then is my child?”

Abstract It is easy to make assumptions about who is, and who is not, the “child” of an individual. In the past, the main question was whether someone was the legitimate child of another. As society and technology have changed, the meaning of “child” has changed to accommodate such matters as adoption, IVF, surrogacy, and same sex marriage. This presents legal issues for those faced with the wording of a will or trust that depends on whether an individual is the “child” of another: how to draft so that someone’s status as a “child” of another is made clear, and how to approach the question of whether custom, an older legal document, or legislation might influence what is open to the draftsman. This article highlights some of the issues to help the draftsman be alert to them and address them accordingly.