As a father, it’s important that you have the right to see your children and to care for them. You deserve to be a part of their lives as they grow. You also have a responsibility to provide for them.
To do that, you’ll need to establish your parental rights. If you are not married to your children’s mother, then you may not have been identified as the biological father at the time of your children’s birth. If you want to do that, you may need to seek a DNA test through the court.
How does a paternity test work?
A paternity test is an interesting DNA test that takes a sample of your saliva, blood or tissue and attempts to match it with a sample from a child. By looking at these samples, the DNA analysis center can identify portions of DNA that are a match. If the DNA samples match, then the man who gave the sample is around 99.9% likely to be the father. There are rare exceptions, but this is true in the majority of cases.
How can you seek a paternity test?
The paternity test itself is a simple test to take, but you may need to go to court to have one ordered. If the mother of the child you believe is yours does not want to allow the test, then a judge will need to order one based on your request. If you want to request a DNA test, you should provide some evidence to the judge that you and the child’s mother were in a relationship or that you could be the father as a result of a sexual relationship with the other party.
Establishing paternity helps you obtain the right to see your child and care for them as they grow up. Your attorney will help you fight for the DNA test you need.