In Re C.K.G.

173 S.W.3d 714 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

F and M were an unmarried couple who began dating in 1994. Their relationship was up and down, but by 1999, F and M reunited as an unmarried couple and began discussing having a child together. M was forty-five years old, and F was also in his mid-forties. M had at least two adult children from prior marriages as well as grandchildren. Given her age, M was concerned about the viability of her ova, or eggs. They pursued in vitro fertilization. They jointly executed several agreements with the Fertility Center. The boilerplate language described them as 'husband' and 'wife.' F paid the Fertility Center $10,000 for the procedure of having two anonymously donated eggs fertilized with F's sperm and inserted in M's uterus. Two eggs were used, but one divided and all three survived which meant F and M had triplets. Due to complications with the pregnancy, M took an early leave from her job. When she was placed on bed rest, F maintained the household and cooked for her. She gave birth via caesarian section to three children. The birth certificates for the children identify F as the father and M as the mother. Things went very well in the beginning, and they purchased a house in Brentwood together as tenants in common with the understanding that they would bear the cost equally. After hiring a nanny, their relationship soon deteriorated. F began withholding financial support from the children. After utility service to their home had been cut off, M filed a petition in the juvenile court of Williamson County to establish parentage and to obtain custody and child support. F argued that because M lacked a genetic connection, she was not a mother under Tennessee's domestic relations statutes. M sought sole and exclusive custody of the triplets. A pendente lite order required F to pay M $3,000 per month for child support. The court ruled that M had standing to bring a parentage action 'as legal mother of these three (3) minor children with all the rights, privileges, and obligations as if she were their biological mother.' M 'is the birth mother and always had the intent to birth these children for herself and F.' The court awarded joint custody and required F to continue to pay M child support in the amount of $3,000 per month. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgments of the juvenile court, but it used the intent test adopted in California. F appealed.