You may invoke your legal right to a paternity test in several situations. You may be a mother seeking child support from your child's biological father, a father who wants assurance that a child you're being asked to support is your biological child or a child who has claims on a biological father's estate.
History
Before 1900, determining who fathered a child was guesswork, based on the word of the child's mother. Because of men's anxiety about children's parentage, sexual fidelity was enforced more strictly for women than for men Western culture. This double standard fuels writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1853 novel, "Ruth." The heroine, a middle class teenager, becomes an outcast for having an illegitimate son, while her child's wealthy father continues his comfortable lifestyle.
Genetics Discovered
The DNA Diagnostic Center's online slide show, "A History of DNA Testing," describes how scientists learned in the 1950s that every human carries within almost every cell 46 thread-like structures called chromosomes, each one composed of DNA, a substance in which all mental and physical traits are stored. A paternity test compares samples of a child's DNA with samples taken from his mother and his alleged father. The samples are collected using a cotton-tipped swab to pick up cells from a person's inner cheek.
Mother's Request
If you are the mother of a child and the biological father of your child has not legally admitted that he is the child's father, you can file a paternity lawsuit against him, as discussed by the law firm of Stephens Margolin in an online essay, "Paternity." Your child's father will then be ordered by the court to undergo a paternity test. If the DNA test results show that the man is your child's father, he can be ordered to pay child support.
Father's Assurance
If you are a man who questions whether a child is your biological child, you can start with a home DNA test kit. The results of a home DNA test kit can set your mind at rest, but the results are not considered valid in a court. If the home DNA test shows that the child may not be your biological child, then it is best to arrange a legally valid DNA test, in which you, the child and the child's mother are retested in a laboratory setting where there is no possibility that the test will be tampered with.
Child Seeks Test
Paternity tests can be sought by a man's child, as a minor or as an adult. After billionaire Larry Hillblom was killed in a 1995 plane crash, scientists tested eight children claiming to be Hillblom's and discovered that four of them, living in three different countries, had the same father. Their paternal DNA also matched the DNA of Hillblom's mother and brother. The children inherited millions of dollars.
If you are requesting paternity testing, it is best to retain a lawyer. State laws on parentage, child support and estate claims are complex, and a lawyer will help you protect your rights.
References
- DNA Diagnostics Center: A History of DNA Testing
- Identigene DNA Testing Center: Understanding DNA Paternity Test Results
- Law Firm of Stephens Margolin: Paternity
- "Journal of Law & Policy"; When Minor Sues for Paternity; Lauren Taub, J.D.; 2008
- "San Francisco Weekly"; Cash for Genes; Matt Smith; April 10, 2000
