Couple reaches custody agreement with daughter's biological parents after alleged IVF mix-up
A couple who welcomed a child genetically unrelated to them following an alleged embryo mix-up at a Florida fertility clinic will raise the child as their own after reaching an agreement with the child's biological parents, the couple says.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills welcomed a daughter named Shea in December 2025, and after testing, they learned Shea was genetically related to other biological parents, according to a complaint filed in January against the now-defunct fertility clinic IVF Life, Inc., which conducted business under the name Fertility Center of Orlando before closing its doors in May.
Score and Mills now say that along with Shea's biological parents, they have come to a "mutually devised custody agreement" and plan to build and develop "a relationship of friendship and trust" together.
Score and Mills will continue to be Shea's custodial parents and raise her as their own child, according to the custody agreement, which was filed in Orange County, Florida, on June 12.
Jack Scarola, an attorney for Score and Mills, told ABC News in a statement that Score and Mills "appreciate" how news of their experience has connected them with Shea's biological parents.
"Tiffany and Steve recognize the public interest in the details of their IVF experience, and they appreciate the role the news media has played in bringing them and Shea to the point where Shea's genetic parents were able to be identified and fears about Shea's future have been settled," Scarola said.
The identity of Shea's biological parents will remain confidential due to privacy concerns, according to Scarola.
"Tiffany and Steve are committed to respect[ing] the privacy concerns of Shea's genetic parents with whom they have begun and intend to continue to foster a relationship of friendship and trust. They are also committed to protecting Shea from harmful intrusion on her privacy," Scarola said.
Score and Mills are currently suing IVF Life, Inc. and Dr. Milton McNichol, who led the fertility clinic prior to its closure.
In the lawsuit, the couple said they employed the services of IVF Life, Inc. to assist them in the IVF process and contracted with the clinic for "cryogenic storage of three viable embryos."
The couple alleged that the clinic subsequently implanted an embryo in Score's uterus in March 2025 that "was not one of the embryos produced by [Score and Mills]." After their daughter was born in December 2025, Score and Mills -- who are both white and said their daughter "displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child" upon birth -- said they used genetic testing and confirmed the baby had no biological relationship to them.
The couple demanded the clinic disclose the lawsuit to "all of its patients who had embryos in storage," in part "to determine whether they may be the recipient of one of [Score and Mills'] embryos."
Score and Mills also called for the clinic to cover the cost of "genetic testing for all patients and the children of all patients whose birth resulted from embryo implantation through [the clinic's] services during the past five years," which is the time period when the clinic had custody of Score and Mills' embryos, and to disclose any discrepancies in parentage.
In last week's custody filing, Score and Mills said they had since been provided with information "regarding the embryo history of Plaintiffs and other patients" that "revealed laboratory-clinic errors that would substantiate claims for damages against the present defendants and others without the need to satisfy medical malpractice lawsuit prerequisites."
They said they have chosen to store one of their embryos at a different facility.
An attorney for IVF Life, Inc. declined to comment further following the mutual agreement between Score, Mills and Shea's biological parents.
In a previous statement in January, IVF Life, Inc. said it was "actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them."
"Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred," the clinic stated at the time. "Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved. We will continue to assist in any way that we can, regardless of the outcome of the investigation."
ABC News has reached out to an attorney for McNichol for comment.
