614-241-2174In Ohio and across the United States, some men are surprised upon learning that their former domestic partners or spouses are pregnant. A DNA paternity test is often used by the court to find out whether the man must pay child support. In cases where the parents of a child are unmarried, the supposed father is not necessarily the child’s legal father. Instead, the law refers to him as the child’s “alleged father” unless a DNA paternity test proves otherwise.
If a man’s DNA paternity test results are positive, the judge may instruct him to make child support payments. A judge may also grant the biological father visitation rights. Different states have various ways to establish whether a man is a child’s biological father. The most important aspect for establishing paternity involves the type of lab that performs the test.
Courts rely on the results issued by AABB laboratories and other accredited labs. Tests performed in accredited labs test DNA samples twice to make sure the results are accurate, and test results undergo the watchful eye of a qualified laboratory director. Men need not worry about health-related complications from taking DNA paternity tests; a medical technician simply swabs the man’s cheek or interior of the mouth. Next, the swabbed cells are tested. The results resemble the same accuracy as those occurring via blood tests.
An alleged father may want to consult with a family law attorney to learn about his legal rights. The court has grave concerns about a child’s welfare. Consequently, a positive DNA paternity test means that the man’s status has been reclassified as the child’s biological father, and a biological father has a legal obligation to care for the child’s financial well-being.