How Paternity Tests Work

Knowing the father of a child can be important for several reasons. First, it can help a court determine who should pay child support. Secondly, a true father of a child may be eligible for visitation rights. Lastly, there are a host of other emotional rationales as to why a child should know his or her actual father.

Paternity tests utilize DNA structure to determine who a child's father really is. Of course, there is usually some degree of uncertainty, but courts normally accept 98% surety for the test. The test works due to the fact that a child receives half of his or her DNA from the mother and the other half from the father. Thus, with paternity tests, DNA samples are needed from the mother, child, and father to complete the test.

A test can be performed before or after the baby is born. To do a prenatal test, a sample is taken from the fetus itself or the placenta, kind of like an amniocentesis. This does put the unborn child at slight risk. However, after birth, doctors can take samples of blood or other tissue cells with a simple swab that is safer for the baby.

Now, at-home kits are available for people who feel comfortable collecting the tissue samples themselves then sending the information off to a laboratory to perform the test. It may be considered slightly more legitimate if a lab or other medical center takes the samples and completes the test because it involves less risk for contamination.

In the lab, the scientists run the DNA through a special gel that arranges it based on the size and weight. Then, lab technicians make tags for the DNA that identify certain sequences of DNA. They can compare the matches for the child to its mother and possible father. Of course, it is a good idea to get as many tags or probes made as possible, so that more similarities in sequence can be identified, lessening uncertainty in the test.

Contact Us

Paternity tests have taken a large role in assigning child support and visitation rights. For more information on how paternity tests can help or affect you, contact a Frisco divorce lawyer at the law firm of Alexander & Associates today at 972-420-6570.