L.F. v. Breit
Virginia Supreme Court
736 S.E.2d 711 (2013)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
Long-time partners Beverly Mason (defendant) and William Breit (plaintiff) wanted a child. Unable to conceive naturally, they engaged in in vitro fertilization, using Breit’s sperm to fertilize Mason’s eggs, and Mason gave birth to a daughter, L.F. (defendant). The day after L.F.’s birth, Mason and Breit executed a written agreement acknowledging Breit as L.F.’s legal and biological father. The couple lived together for four months after the birth but then separated. Breit continued to visit L.F. and provide financial support. However, when L.F. was about a year old, Mason terminated all contact between Breit and L.F. Breit petitioned for a judicial declaration that he was L.F.’s legal father and an order establishing custody and visitation. He argued that the acknowledgment of paternity conclusively established a parent-child relationship between himself and L.F. Mason argued that Virginia’s assisted-conception statute precluded anyone other than a mother’s husband from being deemed the parent of a child conceived via assisted conception. The trial court held in Mason’s favor, but the appellate court reversed. Mason appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mims, J.)
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