A Florida couple who discovered the child they conceived through in vitro fertilization was not genetically related to them will retain permanent custody under an agreement reached with the child’s biological parents, according to court records and statements from both families.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills announced the agreement after identifying the biological parents of their daughter, Shea, through genetic testing earlier this year.
In a social media post, Score said the couple met Shea’s biological parents about two months ago and plans to maintain an ongoing relationship with them.
“Her genetic parents are truly wonderful people, and we will maintain a relationship with them going forward,” Score wrote. “While this chapter has brought more uncertainty and emotion than we could have ever imagined, this is the best outcome we could have hoped for, and our hearts are full of gratitude and relief as we look forward to moving forward as a family.”
According to court filings submitted on June 12, the parties reached a “mutually devised custody agreement” that allows Score and Mills to continue as Shea’s permanent custodial parents while preserving a relationship between the child and her biological parents.
Discovery Of The Mix-Up
The case began after Score underwent an embryo transfer at the Fertility Center of Orlando in March 2025. The procedure resulted in a pregnancy, and Shea was born in December 2025.
According to a lawsuit filed by the couple, concerns arose after the child’s birth when the baby appeared to be of a different racial background from either parent. Both Score and Mills are white. Subsequent DNA testing revealed Shea had no genetic relationship to either of them and was 100% South Asian.
The couple then launched efforts to identify Shea’s biological parents, saying they felt a moral obligation to locate them.
In April, the biological parents were identified through genetic testing conducted among patients connected to the fertility clinic.
Biological Parents Decline Custody Fight
Attorney Rob Marcereau, who represents Shea’s biological parents, said his clients would have preferred custody if circumstances had been different but ultimately concluded that a legal battle would not be in the child’s best interests.
“They had to make the heartbreaking decision not to fight for custody,” Marcereau said, according to People.
He said the biological parents were “obviously shocked” when informed that their embryo had been implanted in another woman and described the situation as devastating for everyone involved.
“They are heartbroken over what has happened, and they also understand that the birth couple are also suffering,” Marcereau said.
Marcereau said the biological parents are satisfied that Shea is being cared for in a loving home and intend to remain involved in her life under the terms of the agreement.
“They do want to stay in her life,” he said. “There was no easy answer or easy solution to this and they’re doing the best that they can under the circumstance.”
The attorney also described private meetings between the families as emotional, saying there had been “a lot of tears and hugs.”
Ongoing Lawsuits And Investigation
Score and Mills continue to pursue legal action against IVF Life Inc., which operated as the Fertility Center of Orlando, and Dr. Milton McNichol, the clinic’s lead reproductive endocrinologist.
The lawsuit alleges negligence and seeks answers about how the embryo mix-up occurred. The couple has also requested broader genetic testing and notification efforts involving former patients whose embryos were stored or implanted through the clinic during the past five years.
Court filings indicate attorneys for the couple have received information suggesting there may have been additional laboratory errors involving embryos and are continuing to investigate.
The biological parents also intend to pursue legal claims against the clinic and doctor, according to Marcereau.
The Fertility Center of Orlando previously said it was cooperating with the investigation and working to determine when and where the error occurred. The clinic later closed, with another fertility provider taking over operations at the facility.
Court records indicate one frozen embryo belonging to Score and Mills remains in storage at another clinic and will undergo testing to determine its genetic parentage. Another one of the couple’s three frozen embryos resulted in a miscarriage, and a third remains unaccounted for.
Looking Ahead
In a statement following the custody agreement, attorneys for Score and Mills said the couple intends to focus on raising Shea and building a relationship with her biological parents while protecting the child’s privacy.
“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born — we will love and will be this child’s parents forever,” the couple previously said, People reported.
With the custody agreement finalized, both families say they intend to remain part of Shea’s life as they move forward from a case that has drawn national attention and renewed scrutiny of fertility clinic safeguards.
