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Wondering how to get a court-ordered DNA test?
This article covers everything related to how to get a court-ordered DNA test.
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This section talks about how to get a court-ordered DNA test.
To get one, you’ll need to file a petition to establish paternity.
You’ll need to serve the papers to the other parent.
With this petition, you need to include a Response Form.
You can use the sheriff’s department to serve the papers to the father.
After that, file the Proof of Service with the courts.
After this, the courts will schedule a hearing.
The courts will give the father the opportunity to:
If the father refuses paternity, the judge will issue a court-ordered DNA test.
Once the results are in, the judge will give you the results of paternity.
Related: Grounds for Full Custody of Child
A court-ordered DNA test is used to prove or disprove a biological relationship with a child.
The court-ordered DNA test creates a DNA profile for the parent and child.
Then, it compares the data to determine if there is a genetic match.
If the data matches, then the person is the biological parent.
If it does not match, then they are not the biological parent.
A court-ordered DNA test uses blood or saliva from the parent and child.
And they are nearly 100% accurate.
Court-ordered DNA tests are used to establish paternity.
The establishment of paternity gets used in child custody and child support cases.
But court-ordered DNA tests can also help fathers get added to the birth certificate.
The petitioning party is the one who has to pay for a court-ordered DNA test.
Sometimes the mother wants to know how to get a court-ordered DNA test.
But sometimes it’s the father that’s trying to establish paternity.
Either way, the parent who petitions the court for paternity pays for it.
But what if the petitioning person cannot afford a court-ordered DNA test?
The state will pay for your court-ordered DNA test.
But you have to prove that you cannot afford it.
And, most of the time, you’ll have to pay the state back in payments.
Now that we know who pays for it, how much does a court-ordered paternity test cost?
A legal court-ordered paternity test costs between $300 and $500.
A retail court-ordered paternity test costs about $30.
But the retail court-ordered paternity test cost does not include the testing.
The shipping and testing cost about another $200.
So, how long does a DNA test take for child support or child custody?
Related: Reasons a Judge Will Change Custody
A DNA test for child support takes 2-5 days to process results.
That’s 2-5 days from the time the samples are received.
There are options for expediting your court-ordered DNA test.
But expediting them usually costs more.
Your court-ordered DNA test should take about one week to get the results.
Related: What Are The Chances Of A Father Getting Full Custody
Let’s talk about some of the complications with how to get a court-ordered DNA test.
You’re going to run up against parents who refuse to take the court-ordered DNA test.
This sections talks about what to do in those scenarios.
A mother can refuse a paternity test.
There are two scenarios you’re facing, which are that:
If the parents are married, the husband is automatically assumed to be the father.
And he is on the hook for financial support if they separate.
Even if the child is not his, he is still assumed to be the father.
And he will need to get a paternity test to prove he is not the father.
To do this, he will need to petition the court to establish paternity.
Challenging paternity with a court-ordered DNA test is the only way to do this.
Once there is a court-ordered DNA test, the mother cannot refuse a paternity test.
If she does, she will get held in contempt of court.
And can get fined, imprisoned, or even a misdemeanor.
Related: Keeping A Child Away From The Other Parent Can Backfire
For unmarried parents, the father is not automatically presumed to be the father.
Paternity needs to be established if:
Either parent can be trying to figure out how to get a court-ordered DNA test.
And each parent gets different benefits.
If a mother refuses a paternity test, she will not receive any child support.
But she gets full custody of the child to herself.
If the father refuses a paternity test, he loses the ability to have custody of his child.
But neither parent can refuse a court-ordered DNA test.
If the mother refuses a paternity test, file a petition to establish paternity.
The judge will issue a court-ordered DNA test.
And if the mother refuses a paternity test, she will get held in contempt.
Related: If There Is No Custody Order In Place Can I Take My Child
When the mother refuses a paternity test, file a petition to establish paternity.
The courts will issue a court-ordered DNA test.
If the mother refuses a paternity test, the courts can override any refusal.
The courts will do what’s in the best interest of the child.
And means overriding a mother’s consent to a court-ordered DNA test.
Related: Moving Out of State With Child No Custody Agreement
Let’s talk about the types of court-ordered DNA tests.
You may be taking either a pre-pregnancy or post-pregnancy DNA test.
For how to get a court-ordered DNA test, this is the one you’re most likely going to take.
This test gets done after the baby is born.
This court-ordered DNA test can use cheek swabs or blood samples.
These samples get sent to and tested in a lab.
Sometimes you need to get a court-ordered DNA test during pregnancy.
This can be done to establish paternity for the father.
Or disprove paternity for him.
There are several ways for how to get a court-ordered DNA test during pregnancy.
But the most common one is a noninvasive prenatal paternity test.
For this DNA test, a blood sample is taken from the pregnant person.
This blood sample gets used to analyze the fetal DNA.
It is then compared to a saliva sample from the potential father.
This court-ordered DNA test can be done as early as six weeks into the pregnancy.
And it’s nearly 100% accurate.
Related: Grounds for Full Custody of Child
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