North Carolina Court Rules de Facto Parent of IVF-Conceived Child Cannot Be Forced to Pay Child Support

Science has given individuals and couples the chance to start a family in ways that were not possible in the recent past. However, nontraditional methods of conception can give rise to complex legal issues when relationship partners both take part in raising a child while only one has a biological tie to the youth.

Tricosa Green and E’Tonya Carter are two women who had a romantic relationship, but never married. While they were together, they decided to try to have a child through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Together, the women selected a donor whose sperm would be used to fertilize Carter’s egg. When Carter gave birth to a girl in Michigan, she was listed on birth certificate as the child’s mother. State law did not allow Green to be listed on the document. When the women broke up and subsequently moved to North Carolina, the women were granted joint legal and physical custody.

When Carter sought child support from Green, the trial court agreed with her request based on the fact that Green was a de facto parent to Alisa despite the lack of any biological connection. However, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed this decision, holding that the child support statute only imposes financial obligations on mothers and fathers. As Green did not fit the legal description of either parent, the Court of Appeals said she would not have to make payments to Carter. In his decision, Mecklenburg County Judge J. Rex Marvel rejected the lower court’s choice to apply the terms “mother” and “father” in a gender-neutral manner that did not require a genetic link.

Judge Marvel likewise ruled that Green did not incur secondary liability for child support despite the fact that she indisputably has acted as a parent to Alisa. The decision notes that someone who stands in loco parentis to a minor only assumes liability for child support if they have executed a written agreement to do so. Though Carter had drafted a parenting agreement that discussed a financial obligation for Green, her ex-partner never signed it.

Child support is just one issue that might require assistance from a family lawyer if partners seek to raise a child together when one only is biologically related to the youth. In some cases, adoption might be a way to establish parenting rights and responsibilities. Alternatively, you might seek to negotiate a detailed parenting agreement before starting the IVF process.

At The Moore Law Office, PLLC in Asheville, we offer comprehensive counsel to North Carolina residents on child support disputes and complex custody matters. To discuss your situation with a knowledgeable attorney, contact us by calling 828-258-8053 or use our online form to get started.