Establishing Paternity with Genetic Testing

The historic stigma against children born to parents out of wedlock is largely a thing of the past.  Many mothers also bristle at the idea that a particular man wants to question his parenthood with respect to one or more of her children.

However, if there is a question of fatherhood, it is in a man's best interest to resolve paternity issues through DNA testing or genetic testing.

Why is Establishing Paternity Important?

DNA testing will protect a prospective father's rights to see his child, have a relationship with that child and legally stop the mother from making decisions on his/her welfare without him.  If a man has established that he is the biological father of a woman's child, he can stop the mother if she acts against the child's best interest.

Unless a court formally terminates a father's rights, a mother can not unilaterally make decisions for their children.

The testing will also help the child in question by making sure that child gets to collect under a prospective father's will, has a father recognized as such under the law and ideally a person who will act accordingly.

Finally, genetic testing will ensure that the true father pays child support.  If a man provides child support to a child that's not his for a long enough period of time, he'll lose his right to complain about it and will have to keep paying for the child until he/she is an adult.  Even if the actual father pays child support, the non-father may still be required to pay.

Getting Legal Help

This article is merely an information source, not a replacement for legal advice.  If a man is concerned about paternity, he should get a lawyer to navigate this area of law and resolve the issue of support payments.