Law of Wills, 2016A

Sandra. As a consequence, Sandra filed for divorce. While the divorce was pending, Pedro was
killed in a car accident. If Pedro died intestate in the state of Connecticut, would the child be
eligible to inherit from his estate? What would be the result if Pedro died in the state of Arkansas?
2. Paul and his wife Maggie decided that they wanted to conceive a child using artificial
insemination. Paul’s sperm count was low, so they had to use donor sperm. They went to the New
Love Fertility Clinic. Paul wrote a $5,000 check to the fertility clinic from his checking account. In
the memorandum section of the check, Paul wrote, “to finance the creation of a child I will raise
with my wife, Maggie.” Maggie started receiving treatment a few days after the clinic cashed Paul’s
check. Prior to the conception of a child, Paul and Maggie had a fight. In response, Paul sent
Maggie a text message stating that he no longer wanted to raise a child with her. It is unclear
whether or not Maggie received the message. Nonetheless, Maggie continued treatments and
conceived a child through the use of artificial insemination. Paul does not want to take any
responsibility for the child. If the jurisdiction has the following statute, is Paul the legal father of the
child? “A man who provides sperm for, or consents to, assisted reproduction by a woman with the
intent to be the parent of her child, is a parent of the resulting child.”
6.6 Children Conceived Through Surrogacy Arrangements
In the previous two sections of this chapter, the focus has been on paternity. This section is
unique in that it tackles the issue of the legal status of the women involved in a surrogacy
arrangement. The cases presented in this section deal with the right of a child created as the result
of a surrogacy arrangement to inherit from his or her mother. As previously indicated, the child’s
right to inherit is determined by the existence of a parent-child relationship. In the case of children
conceived as a result of surrogate agreements, the inheritance rights of those children is based upon
the recognition of the mother-child relationship. The main issue becomes: Who is the legal mother
of a child resulting from a surrogacy arrangement—the surrogate or the contracting woman.
6.6.1 The Possibility of Inheriting From the Woman
In order for a child created as the result of a surrogacy arrangement to have the opportunity
to inherit from a woman, that woman must be deemed to be the child’s legal mother. In some
cases, that woman may be the woman acting as the surrogate. In other cases, that woman may be
the woman who contracted to have the child created. Courts have adopted several different tests to
determine the identity of the legal mother of a child conceived as the result of a surrogacy
arrangement. These tests are illustrated in the next few cases.
6.6.1.1 The Genetics/Blood Test
Belsito v. Clark, et al., 644 N.E. 2d 760 (C.P. Ct. Oh. 1994)
SPICER, Judge.
Findings of Fact
Plaintiffs, Anthony and Shelly Belsito, were married September 26, 1992. They decided they wanted
304