UJUTK7-30-3 Assessment Brief

Instructions

Scenario

Amy and Ben met at university and married in 2010. Amy is a marketing executive who earns £3500 per week (gross). Ben is an artist who earns approximately £150 per week (gross) from part time teaching.

In 2022 Amy and Ben decided to start a family. Amy soon became pregnant but unfortunately suffered a miscarriage a few weeks later. Amy had three more miscarriages between 2022 and 2023. She was referred to a specialist at the local hospital who diagnosed a blood clotting disorder as the cause of the miscarriages. Amy and Ben decided that they would not try to get pregnant again. They decided that they would look into alternative ways to start a family, such as adoption.

Last year, Amy’s friend Cassie agreed to have a baby for Amy and Ben. Cassie is divorced with two children, aged 16 and 18. She gave up work when her first child was born eighteen years ago. Cassie, Amy and Ben received treatment at the local fertility clinic. Cassie was implanted with an embryo created using Amy’s egg and Ben’s sperm.

Amy and Ben attended all ante-natal appointments with Cassie and were present when baby Dylan was born in April 2026. There were some minor complications and as a result, Cassie and Dylan had to stay in hospital for several weeks. Amy and Ben visited Cassie and Dylan every day. At first, Cassie referred to Amy as Dylan’s mum, but as time passed, she stopped doing this and was reluctant to let Amy hold Dylan. The day before Cassie and Dylan were due to be discharged, the ward nurse told Amy and Ben that Cassie did not want them to visit. The next day, Cassie texted Amy and Ben saying that she was very sorry, but she had changed her mind and wanted to keep the baby.

Amy and Ben are distraught: Cassie has refused to allow them to see Dylan. Cassie has also requested financial support from Amy and Ben as she has no income. Amy and Ben are prepared to take legal action to ensure that they are recognised as Dylan’s parents and to ensure that Dylan lives with them.

1. Explain the legal status of Amy, Ben and Cassie in relation to baby Dylan (prior to any court order being granted).
2. Discuss the court orders that Amy and Ben may apply for, the requirements and principles that the court will apply and Amy and Ben’s prospects of success.
3. Discuss Amy and Ben’s liability for financial support if Dylan remains living with Cassie.
4. Comment critically on the law that you have explained and applied.

Please Note:

• Your answers for each element of the question may not be of the same length.
• You may wish to comment critically on the law as you go along.
• Assignment type: Individual written coursework
• Format Answer to a problem question (2500 words)
• Your answer should be researched, written, and submitted by you individually.
• Your answer should be written in prose. You may use sub-headings if you wish.
• Your answer should be supported by references to the sources of information that you are relying on.

A full bibliography (summarising the legislation, case-law, textbooks, any academic journal articles and other sources that you have consulted) should be set out at the end of your answer.

Guidance

What am I required to do on this assessment?

In no more than 2,500 words, answer the four questions above regarding the future of baby Dylan.

Where should I start?

Review the relevant lecture and seminar materials. Start with lecture 15 and seminar 16 on parenthood.

What do I need to do to pass?

You need to achieve a mark of 40% to pass this assessment. Please see the marking criteria below.

How do I achieve high marks in this assessment?

To achieve high marks you must meet the criteria for a good, excellent or outstanding piece of work as indicated on the marking criteria below. This includes: thoroughly coherent knowledge of family law, substantial and detailed application and utilising sources at the forefront of family law.

What milestones are there for this module, and when might I aim to reach these?

Revise the brief and the assessment question;

Research the law and plan your answer;

By 30/06/26, write the first draft of your answer;

By 13/07/26, finish editing your answer.

Refer to UWE’s Assignment Planner for additional guidance and support.

How does the learning and teaching relate to the assessment?

Teaching Block 2 Materials on Blackboard are relevant to this assessment: Lectures 10-19 and workshops 12-20.

What do I do if I am concerned about completing this assessment?

It is recommended that you review all of the relevant materials on Blackboard. You can also speak to your Module Leader for advice and guidance.

UWE Bristol offer a range of Assessment Support Options that you can explore through this link, and both Student Support Advisers and Wellbeing Support are available.

For further information, please see the Student study essentials.

How do I avoid an Assessment Offence on this module?

See, generally, the Academic Conduct Policy and Academic Misconduct Procedures.  Use the support above if you feel unable to submit your own work for this module.

What resources will help me understand and succeed with what I’ve been asked to do?

• Finding books, articles and other information > generally, here and for legal research, here
• Plan and structure your work > workbook here
• Writing in academic style > workbook here
• Write a report > workbook here
• Be reflective > workbook here
• Be critical/evaluative > workbook here
• Complete a literature review > workbook here
• Reference via OSCOLA, or Harvard (optional for joint award students only) – or see BLIS course
• Write using academic English > support here

Please refer to the Assessment Q&A on the module’s Blackboard site for more guidance. 

This Q&A, found in the ‘Discussions’, allows you to ask questions about the assessment(s), anonymously if you wish, and receive a response from the module leader.

You should regularly review the Q&A in order that you are up to date with the latest answers from the module leader.  Please note:  The answers posted here effectively form part of the assessment brief – that is, if you do something instructed or advised against in this Q&A, you will lose marks, and, conversely, if you follow the guidance provided, you will earn marks.

Please observe the following before posting:

1. Do not ask a question that has already been asked;
2. Do not ask a question that can readily be answered using the resources on Blackboard, including any module handbook;
3. Please only post relevant and sensible questions, all of which are moderated before becoming public;
4. Please note that questions posted within 1 week of the assessment deadline will not be answered.

Please ensure your question is clear and precise, and include any contextual information necessary for the module leader to understand it.

FOR WORK UPLOADED TO BLACKBOARD, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU PREVIEW YOUR WORK IN BLACKBOARD BEFORE FINAL SUBMISSION.

Formatting requirements

Times New Roman or Arial, 1.5 spacing

The first page of your coursework must include:

• Your student number
• The module name and number
• Your word count
• That you are using Harvard referencing, if you are a joint awards student only
• The coursework question or title
• A declaration as follows:

“I declare that no use was made of artificial intelligence in the production of this submission”

“I declare that artificial intelligence was used as follows in the production of this submission – [specify- e.g. ideation, structuring your work, grammar]”.

Referencing requirements

• OSCOLA for single-honours (LLB) students
• Either OSCOLA or UWE Harvard for joint awards students (please confirm which used)

Please note that the aim of referencing is to demonstrate you have read and understood a range of sources to evidence your key points.  You need to list the references consistently and in such a way as to ensure the reader can follow up on the sources for themselves.

Specific resources which may help you complete this assessment

• Teaching Block 2 Materials on Blackboard: Lectures 10-19 and workshops 12-20.
• Directed reading from Hayes and Williams (by Gilmore & Glennon) on Family Law (7^th Edition) 2020 and Jonathan Herring on Family Law (12^th Edition) 2025 on Blackboard

Good Scholarship Requirements

You are permitted to use Gen AI tools in an assistive role in this assessment to support you with:

• structuring content
• supporting a particular process such as translating content

Please note that while GenAI tools might suggest topics/content, you will always need to go back and locate and critically engage with actual literature/research/evidence yourself.

As the use of Gen AI is optional (due to its purely supportive capacity) its use is not part of the skills or knowledge you need to demonstrate for this assessment. However, if you have used Gen AI to prepare or produce part or all of your work, you must acknowledge its use. For more advice on this (and its use in general) please see your Generative AI study skills guide.

Good scholarship also requires that you do not commit an assessment offence. Common assessment offences on this module include:

• Plagiarism
• Collusion

There is extensive advice on how to prepare for assessments and to avoid offences on UWE’s Study Skills Preparing for Assessments.

Please note that a finding of an assessment offence against you is likely to seriously hinder or prevent a career in the legal professions.

UJUTK7-30-3 Assessment Marking Rubric

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