Paternity: How it is Determined
Blood, tissue, and saliva samples of the father, mother, and child can determine paternity. These tests have an accuracy range between 90 and 99.9 percent. A DNA Test is typically 99.9% accurate and is the standard scientific test used today to determine paternity. These tests can exclude a person who is not the biological father and can also show what the likelihood is of paternity if that person is not excluded. When it comes to establishing paternity in a contested case, a scientific DNA test plays a very significant role. For those who may need assistance with a case like this, Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice, Florida family law attorney Matthew Z. Martell can help you.
Blood Tests for Paternity
Blood tests to prove paternity were first conducted in the middle half of the twentieth century. They were conducted by comparing the blood types of parties who were tested. A more powerful blood test to prove paternity was developed in the 1970s. This test uses white blood cell antigens that result in a test that has the ability to exclude around 95 percent of men who were not the biological father. Several milliliters of blood are required to conduct this test.
Blood tests alone cannot be used to make a determination of paternity for a biological father. They can be used to determine the possibility of a biological father. If you need assistance with establishing or disproving paternity, you can contact one of the best Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice family law lawyers near you like Attorney Matthew Martell to assist you.
DNA Tests for Paternity
DNA is the genetic material that is present in every single cell within the human body. Every person has unique DNA, except in the case of identical twins. DNA paternity testing is the most accurate type of paternity testing out there. It is possible to rule out an alleged father only if the DNA patterns between the child and alleged father are no match on two or more of the DNA probes. However, if the DNA patterns match between the child, mother, and alleged father, the chances of paternity are 99.9 percent.
A DNA test can be administered by swabbing a person’s cheek or testing a person’s blood. A cheek swab uses a buccal smear to collect all cells inside the cheek that are then tested for DNA. A blood test on the other hand uses Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism that compares the DNA of the alleged father with that of the child’s.
How a Sarasota County and Manatee County Lawyer Can Help You
Sometimes, the legal system must become involved in order to have a man to submit to a paternity test. Mothers, fathers and even other relatives may have different reasons why they want to request a paternity test. Sometimes the help of an experienced and highly rated Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice family law attorney near you like Attorney Matthew Z. Martell is necessary.
There are certain cases where a father may want to have their parental rights established, or a mother may want to acquire child support from a father. Grandparents may also seek to take temporary extended custody over an alleged father for certain reasons such as abandonment. A scientific DNA test is useful in these type of situations.
Sometimes a Sarasota FL attorney is needed when attempting to obtain child support from an absentee father. For example, the father may refuse to acknowledge paternity, and the mom may then file a petition with the family court to ask the court to establish paternity. The court will then order DNA sample to be taken from both the minor child and the alleged father. A scientific paternity test will be able to prove the who the father is conclusively.
If the DNA test does prove that the alleged father is the biological father of the child, then the court will issue an Order Establishing Paternity. The father’s name will then be added to the child’s birth certificate. The mother will then legally be able to request that the court to order the father to meet his child support financial obligations to the child. This is why having a good paternity lawyer like Attorney Matthew Z. Martell is so important.
If you are serious about immediately hiring a lawyer for your paternity case, then please contact the Law Office of Matthew Z. Martell, P.A. at (941) 556-7020.
