Jason Patric declared legal father of his son in sperm donor case

Jason Patric scored a new victory in his fight for custodial rights of his son, Gus, age 4. This case is so messy and acrimonious. Jason hasn’t seen Gus in 2 years after splitting with Danielle Schreiber. The two dated for many years, and Jason apparently gave Danielle his sperm the first time they broke up. The agreement was confusing. Even though Jason signed over all custodial rights, he later revealed that he and Danielle only used IVF because they couldn’t get pregnant on their own. They reconciled. Danielle welcomed Jason back into Gus’ life, and they did happy family beach photo ops.

After a second breakup, Danielle told Jason to get lost. Things grew complicated. A court denied him custody rights as “a sperm donor.” Jason launched the Stand Up for Gus foundation to raise awareness for parental alienation. He appealed the case and insisted he was “a willing co-parent.” The appellate court ruled that Jason no longer had no parental rights (sorry about the double negative), and the case went back to trial court level. To complicate matters, Danielle came forward at the 11th hour with allegations of abuse and anti-Semetic remarks. Like I said, this is a total cluster. TMZ reports that the trial court has ruled that Jason is the legal father of Gus, which means father and son shall be reunited:

Jason Patric just won a 2-year legal battle against his baby mama — a judge just declared he is the legal father of 4-year-old Gus … TMZ has learned.

Jason had a baby with ex-GF Danielle Schreiber, and after breaking up, going back and breaking up again, she fought hard against his bid to become the legal father, citing a quirky law.

According to the law … if a man donates sperm to a woman to whom he is not married and a doctor facilitates the insemination … the man has NO claim of custody or parental rights.

The trial judge ruled against Jason, he appealed and the appellate court said the trial judge was off base and sent it back for another hearing.

The second time was a charm for Jason. We’ve learned the trial judge just issued a sealed, 45-page opinion, concluding Jason is the legal father.

The judge ordered Jason, Danielle and their lawyers to try and hash out a custody, visitation and support agreement, but if they can’t the judge will make the decisions.

This case became a rallying cry for father’s rights — enormous victory for Jason.

UPDATE: Schreiber’s rep tells TMZ, “The proposed statement of decision is not intended to be public nor is it final.”

[From TMZ]

I don’t know what to make of that update from Danielle’s rep. Perhaps she plans on appealing this case yet again. I’m happy for Jason and Gus even though there’s a residual unease over Danielle’s allegations of abuse. This case should make interesting waves for other potential sperm-donor cases. TMZ says the trial opinion is 45 pages, so there’s likely a very strict window of cases where this case can set a precedent. Maybe? We shall see.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

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