Legal Paternity Testing
Our Legal Paternity Test is a DNA test that determines with 99.9% certainty or greater if a man is the biological father of a child. The DNA specimen for our legal paternity test must be collected by cheek swab at one of our over 5000 clinics. The result of this test is a written, court admissible report that can be used for any legal purpose related to paternity.
MedFusion's DNA paternity test uses a comprehensive 21 marker analysis, which means you can be certain that the results will be conclusive and will hold up in court.
Why do I need a Legal Paternity Test?
A legal paternity test is required when a man or woman wants to identify the biological father of a child. and may possibly need to use the results for legal purposes. Sometimes, children born to unmarried parents may need a legal DNA test to change a birth certificate or to gain survivor benefits. This test is frequently ordered in child custody and divorce proceedings by attorneys, the judge, or one of the divorcing parents. Our legal paternity tests are administered by professional technicians at one of our 5000 plus clinics throughout the US. The report is signed by a doctor at our laboratory.
A legal Paternity test can be used for
- changing a birth certificate
- petitioning for child custody
- establishing paternity for child support purposes
- changing wills and estates
- proving right of inheritance
- Survivor’s Benefits, SSI, or Social Security
Where to get a legal paternity test?
You can schedule an appointment conveniently today. You decide when and where you wish to test, and if the parties wish to test together at the same clinic, or separately at different clinics and/or at different times. Once we have all the required information, we’ll send you an email and text message with your appointment details. Home and hospital visits are available in some locations for an extra fee – call for details. Adults should bring photo ID. For kids, please have a birth certificate or social security card ready. For newborns, hospital discharge papers can serve as identification.
How long do Paternity Results take?
Generally, it takes about a week to obtain the results of a legal paternity test. The signed lab report is emailed to you, and an official hard copy is sent later via US mail, which takes an extra week or two to arrive.
How are the test results determined?
After our lab extracts the DNA from your specimens (the cheek swabs), our geneticists study 21 genetic markers for each person. They perform a statistical analysis to determine the likelihood that the parties are related. For paternity testing, that likely will always be either zero or greater than 99.9%.