Paternity involves establishing a man as a child’s biological father. As discussed in prior posts on this Minnesota family law blog, with the establishment of paternity comes many rights and responsibilities for the father. In some cases a claim for paternity may be made by a man who wishes to have involvement in his child’s life. In other scenarios a claim of paternity may be initiated by a mother who wants her child’s father to participate in the care and expenses associated with raising the child.
Regardless of who starts the process of establishing paternity, though, a request for genetic testing to prove paternity must be accompanied by supportive facts. Those facts must demonstrate that there was a reasonable possibility that the father could or could not be the child’s parent based on the sexual contact of the presumptive father and the child’s mother.
If a man is proven to be the biological father of a child, he may be ordered to pay child support for the benefit of that child. Additionally, if a man is proven through genetic testing with a certainty of 99 percent or greater to be a child’s father then the court may find that there is an evidentiary presumption that the man is the father and that it is his burden to prove that he is not.
The facts and information discussed in the prior paragraphs of this post must be offered to a court in the form of an affidavit and should accompany a party’s request for genetic testing to prove paternity. Attorneys who work in the paternity and family law fields and excellent resources for those individuals who wish to request paternity testing on behalf of their children or who need to defend themselves against claims of paternity that they believe to be false.
