The potential for a drawn-out and expensive court battle between two sets of parents was certainly there, but this tale of laboratory-clinic errors appears to be destined for a happy ending. A Florida couple who discovered at the moment of birth that there had been an egregious error made in the embryo implantation have reportedly reached a “mutually devised custody agreement” with the actual genetic parents of Shea Score Mills. Tiffany Score, who carried and gave birth to Shea after an erroneous embryo transfer by the Fertility Center of Orlando (FCO), and Steven Mills will remain their daughter’s permanent custodial parents.
Their story gained national attention after the couple shared that post-birth genetic testing confirmed that neither of them was a biological parent of Shea. A lawsuit in January 2026 sought to compel FCO, IVF Life, Inc., and Dr. Milton McNichol to help them determine which other in vitro fertilization (IVF) clients were genetically related to Shea. While the parentage issues may have been settled, the complaint’s requests for damages against the now-closed FCO remain active.
While many have lauded Score and Mills for their efforts to figure out the parental boondoggle they’d found themselves in through no fault of their own, their response was also a savvy move that may have saved them from a cluster of legal headaches in the future. Courts generally apply a “best interests of the child” standard, but they also must account for the constitutional and statutory rights of biological parents, which can heavily influence outcomes. By reaching an agreement to retain permanent legal custody, the couple can focus on raising their daughter without the fear of losing her looming over their heads.
That Must Have Been One Hell of a Moment in the Delivery Room
IVF has been a fertility treatment option since the first successful implantation in 1977. If the mother plans to use her own eggs, the process consists of five steps. After daily injections to increase fertility and egg production, mature eggs are removed from the ovaries through a surgical procedure known as follicular aspiration. The third step involves mixing eggs and sperm for fertilization, followed by the eggs dividing to become embryos. At this point (usually three to five days), a viable embryo is placed inside the mother’s womb. More than one can be implanted at the same time to increase the chance of success.
Viable embryos that are not used can be donated, frozen for later attempts, or fought over in court. Such was the case with Score and Mills, who believed they were having one of their stored embryos implanted in April 2025. The procedure proved successful, and Score gave birth to Shea on December 11, 2025. However, the fact that their daughter had dark skin, while both Score and Mills are white, quickly led to the discovery that there had been some sort of IVF mix-up.
DNA testing confirmed that they were not Shea’s genetic parents, prompting them to file a lawsuit in January 2026 to gain access to medical records to determine which other potential parents at FCO had a missing embryo. While they filed the complaint anonymously, they later chose to reveal their identities once Shea’s biological parents were identified.
There Could Be a Lot of Birthday Presents in Her Future
Aside from announcing that they have secured Shea’s permanent legal custody, Score and Mills shared no other details of the agreement. Their daughter’s biological parents will remain unnamed, and how much of a role they’ll play in Shea's life is between the four adults. Finding and settling with her biological parents staves off any later nasty surprises, as leaving it unresolved would have left the door open to unpleasant custody battles.
It’s unknown if Shea will end up with another sibling (or two), but Score and Mills aren’t taking any chances. Even before FCO announced in April 2026 that it would shut down operations and advised clients to move their embryos to CNY Fertility, the new parents had already transferred their remaining embryos to another facility.
