[en] Using classical mechanical and quantum Monte Carlo methods we trace the ground-state behavior with an applied magnetic field of localized electron pair states in a quantum dot. By developing a method to treat nonconserved paramagnetic interactions using variational and diffusion quantum Monte Carlo techniques we find (i) a single-triplet transition at very small magnetic field strengths, (ii) enhanced localization of the two electrons with increasing magnetic field, and (iii) a mechanism for pair breakup that is different from that proposed recently by Wan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2879 (1995)]. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society