Presented by Mary Pat Byrn, Viitala Byrn & Ives and Erica A. Holzer, Maslon LLP
Minnesota Statutes include provisions regarding gamete donors and the determination parentage of children conceived via assisted reproduction, but some of those statutes have yet to be interpreted by the Minnesota Courts.
This session will discuss those statutes and the use of Known Donor Agreements and Co-Parent Adoptions to protect queer families.
This session will also discuss In Re the Paternity of A.J.S., which will be heard by the Court of Appeals in the coming months. In this case, a known sperm donor asserted a parentage claim of a five-year-old child born to and being raised by a married lesbian couple. The district court denied a Motion to Dismiss, which has been appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Back to Conference Registration
Mary Pat Byrn
Partner at Viitala Byrn & Ives
Mary Pat has been a Partner with Viitala Byrn & Ives, and its predecessor, Viitala Law Office, for five years, practicing primarily in the areas of estate planning and family law. Prior to joining the law firm, Mary Pat was a professor and Associate Dean at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. Mary Pat has written extensively in the areas of constitutional law and family law; with a particular focus on the rights of parents and children in nontraditional families.
Erica A. Holzer
Partner at Maslon LLP
Erica Holzer represents clients in complex commercial disputes primarily in the areas of tort and product liability, consumer fraud, business torts, insurance coverage, and breach of contract actions. Her product liability defense work spans many industries, with particular experience in FDA-approved medical devices, representing a major medical device manufacturer in federal and state courts throughout the country. In her insurance-coverage work, Erica helps business policyholders secure the benefits, protection, and dollars their insurance policies are meant to provide.
Erica is also an experienced appellate attorney. She has argued before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and has authored, co-authored, and edited dozens of appellate briefs. She is frequently sought out to provide advice on appeals in the Eighth Circuit and the appellate courts of Minnesota.