Fighting For The Frozen Embryos

Sponsor Provided Content

Thanks to actress Sophia Vergara and her ex-fiancé the topic of disputes over frozen embryos are in the news. When Vergara and businessman Nick Loeb broke up, Loeb sued her for two embryos saying he wants them brought to term by a surrogate and he is not expecting any financial aid from the donor (Vergara). Few asset disputes are as uncommon as a fight over fertilized eggs. The issue has only occurred in courts in five states.

What are the options for fertilized eggs?  In the one Pennsylvania case, Reber v. Reiss, 42 A.3d 1311 (Pa. Super. 2012), Reiss, a cancer patient, had her eggs fertilized by her husband and frozen. After the divorce, the parties disagreed on the fate of the eggs. The court sided with the wife, most likely because there was no other way she could have her own child after her cancer treatments.

If couples are going to freeze eggs, there should always be an agreement as to what would occur in the event of a divorce. Couples never think that divorce will occur, but many marriages do end in divorce. Even though the divorce rate has been going down in recent decades, that doesn't mean it won't happen.

While the Pennsylvania Courts sided with the wife in the case of Reber, the specific circumstances of that case might have been the determining factor. This was the wife's only chance at having her own child. Another case may not turn out the same way which is why an agreement ahead of time is essential.

This post was authored by Lynne Gold-Bikin.  Lynne is a nationally renowned family law attorney who has frequently appeared on the major networks and has been quoted in prominent newspapers and magazines discussing domestic issues.  Winner of numerous awards, Lynne handles divorce and custody matters.  Lynne may be reached at lgold-bikin@wglaw.com.