What is a legal paternity test?
A Legal Paternity Test is used when an individual would like to have the results of the DNA test be legally admissible in court. This test must be performed under strict chain-of-custody protocols in a CLIA and AABB accredited laboratory. The only people who can legally request a chain of custody test are attorneys who have activated their own legal agreement, judges, custodial services or social work facilities which are in the process of serving custody agreements. (See below for more details about this agreement.)
Examples of when a legal paternity test MAY be required:
Custody Agreements- If couples get divorced and have children together, one parent may require a legal paternity test to determine whether the other is the legal parent of the child .
Custody and Guardianship Proceedings- Legal paternity testing may be required to determine whether an alleged father is responsible for the children or whether the children need a guardian.
Social Work Services- The parents may be required to have legal paternity testing to determine the appropriate allocation of parental responsibilities, residential custody, parenting time and financial responsibilities for the joint children of the parties.
Adoption Proceeding- In an adoption proceeding, a legal paternity test may be used to determine whether an individual has abandoned or signified his consent to the adoption of his child (i.e. the child to be adopted), or whether an individual is withholding consent contrary to the best interests of the child.
Legal paternity testing cost influences
There are several factors that can affect the cost of a legal paternity test. One such factor is the location where the testing occurs. For instance, in the Netherlands, the price of a DNA paternity test ranges theoretically from €159.00 (plus VAT, generally 21%) as offered by the MLD Holland Center to a steep €500.00 for a similar test at DNR DNA Center. In the United States, the cost of legal paternity testing from private labs ranges from about $300.00 to $3,500.00. Genetics & IVF Institute performs legal paternity tests for $299.00; Emerging Tech Labs’ average price for legal paternity testing is $799.00; National Medical Centers, Inc.’s testing starts at $1,500 while DNA Diagnostics Center offers a range of between $350.00 to $1,199.00 depending on testing facility, services provided and whether there are additional subjects. The Even Supply Bank—one of the leading private providers in the United Kingdom—has a sliding scale of costs for legal DNA paternity testing starting at £325.00 (including VAT) and going up to £747.00 (including VAT).
Cost Comparison of Legal vs Non-Legal Paternity Tests
There is generally a substantial price difference between home test paternity test prices, and the price of testing for legal purposes. When you order an at-home paternity test, you are paying only for the test and the expert report. If you choose a legal test, your costs could be substantially more due to the company performing the test and the cost of chain of custody. The exact cost also depends on the number of test participants. A minimum of one alleged father and one child are required. Sibling tests, mother tests or additional child tests are available for an additional fee.
At home testing prices vary by company but a basic at home test may be as low as $79. In contrast, a legal test may be $250 or more depending on the number of required test participants. Legal tests often include other services that are required by the court or agency, such as additional documentation and photographs.
How to decide on a testing company
The process of finding the right testing company can be tedious, with many decisions having a large impact on the cost and reliability of the final results. First, you should choose only an accredited testing company for legal paternity testing. Accreditation ensures that the results are of the highest quality, and the company adheres to certain ethical and technical standards.
If you plan to use the results for legal proceedings, such as an immigration court or child support, it is important that the testing company is AABB-accredited. The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) is the one and only certifying body in the United States. To receive AABB accreditation, a medical testing laboratory must pass an extensive list of qualifications regarding the handling of specimens, procedures, staffing, training, quality control, policies, and laboratory equipment. Accreditation gives you the assurance that the laboratory has the ability to consistently provide reliable products and services .
Accreditation by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) or the College of American Pathologists (CAP)—while also valuable—do not offer the same high level of security that an AABB accreditation does. For example, laboratories that are FDA accredited are limited to testing blood, and cannot be accredited for testing human DNA, which is what a legal paternity testing laboratory actually does. Furthermore, a laboratory certified by the CAP is not permitted to make the necessary arrangements to accept a baby for testing, as an AABB-accredited laboratory would.
An AABB accreditation is valid for only two years, so if you have never had a paternity test before that time period, ask the testing company if they are still AABB-certified. The company is required to tell you or you have the right to cancel your contract with them.
A quick way to check for an updated accreditation status is to visit the testing company’s web site. If it is not listed, contact them; it is their responsibility to provide you with this information.
Payment plans and financing considerations
While financial assistance programs or services may not be specifically marketed or readily available for common testing services, those that perform legal paternity tests may offer payment plans or flexible payment options. As the process is often expensive, providers of legal tests may have personnel who are adept at working with both insurance companies and government institutions. Programs are provided for financial aid, and those who may qualify often get assistance in a variety of different ways, whether through financing, deferred payments, or low- to no-interest payment plans.
It is reasonable to expect that a legal paternity test will be more expensive than other forms of paternity testing, as much of the legal DNA testing process is highly involved and demands strict adherence to regulations under the law. However, through financing or other creative payment options from a reputable provider, it should be easier than ever to obtain the service. Government health care programs typically do not cover the costs of legal paternity.
Next steps once you have the results
If you are a father who has undergone a legal paternity test – whether you suspected you might be the biological father of an alleged child or you had proof you were through a DNA relationship test – there are a number of steps to take after you receive the results of your test. Some of these steps may seem relatively trivial. Others, however, can carry significant legal weight. Your approach to each of these steps depends on your particular situation, but there are certainly some common threads.
For example, if you had any questions about the results of your test or suspect that something has gone awry, should you contact the DNA testing company for further information? This is something you might consider in cases where you have a good reason to believe that the test you were provided with is not exactly representative of the truth of your current situation.
Whether you go about setting up your own paternity test (i.e. either independently or through a separate company or lab) or you contact the same testing organization to have the results re-analyzed, remember that if you proceed in a way that is damaging or libelous to the other parent to any significant degree, it could be considered defamation and you could expose yourself to a counter-suit .
Consider how to proceed with child custody and child support issues. In a perfect world, the results of legal paternity tests will yield practical solutions to complicated issues regarding the custody and treatment of a child. For instance, in cases where a father is most certainly the biological parent of a child, he may seek to secure a court order granting him full custody of that child. In such situations, he may wish to ban the mother from having any form of contact with the child – though whether or not such an arrangement is possible depends on the laws in his state or country.
In some cases, child support options come into play. The second a father discovers or suspects that he is biologically related to a child in question, he must do his best to make sure he provides proper support to that child – assuming that he has sufficient financial resources to do so. If so, he must establish the amount of child support he will provide.
Given the complexities involved, many fathers will benefit from hiring a lawyer to help him navigate the steps and legal processes involved.