Ohio Fathers Rights Lawyer article about DNA Testing in Ohio.
People want DNA tests for different reasons, often to determine paternity of a child. There are a lot of ways to obtain DNA testing. Your choice of method will depend on variables such as:
- Do I want the results of the test to be public? Do I want child support to be established?
- Can I afford to pay for private DNA testing?
- How quickly do I want to receive the results?
- Do I want a guarantee that I will be told the results of the test?
Do I want the results of the test to be public? Do I want child support to be established?
Regardless of whether you are the mother of the child or the possible father, you may want to learn the results of the DNA testing privately, and then decide what to do with the results. In Ohio, the mother can request DNA testing from a child support enforcement agency if paternity of the child in question has not already been established, usually at no cost. A look at the law shows that fathers are supposed to be able to request paternity testing through child support enforcement, but in the real world, this doesn’t seem to happen very often solely at the father’s request. In addition, if you are not sure if you want child support to be established, going through the child support enforcement agency to get DNA testing is not your best option.
If the DNA tests show that the man tested is the child’s father, Child Support Enforcement will issue an administrative order determining parentage. If the mother is on public assistance, then child support enforcement will require the mother to cooperate in obtaining a child support order so that some of the money spent on public assistance can be recovered by the government. If the mother is on public assistance, but does not want the father to have to pay child support, then she may not want to seek DNA testing from the child support enforcement agency.
Can I afford to pay for private DNA testing?
DNA testing can cost as much as the DNA testing company wants to charge, but as of 2011, private DNA testing can be accomplished for around $400 if only the baby and the possible father are tested at a clinic. If you are willing to take the sample at home, the cost is much less, and some places on the internet advertise DNA tests for less than $100. If you intend to use the results in court, you will probably want to go through a clinic. If the test is only for your personal knowledge, you may be satisfied with the less expensive home version.
If you decide to have the testing done through a clinic, you can call one of the national DNA testing companies and make arrangements with them. This can be done over the phone with a credit card. They will give the name of a clinic near you where you can go in to have your cheek swabbed and the child’s cheek swabbed. The sample will be sent to the DNA testing lab, and you should have the results in one to two weeks.
A new development is testing “kits” that can be purchased at stores or ordered online. The author of this article has no information regarding the cost or reliability of such kits, but without an affidavit from a lab regarding the reliability of the results and the sample taking measures, information from these kits would not be helpful in court.
How quickly do I want to receive the results?
Private DNA testing done through a clinic takes a few weeks to get results. Testing done through child support enforcement can take months, but costs little or nothing.
Do I want a guarantee that I will be told the results of the test?
If you have DNA testing done through child support enforcement, and the test results show that the man tested is not the father, the child support enforcement will probably not tell him the results at all. This is because once the DNA results exclude him as the father, he is no longer considered a party to the child support case.
For more information about FATHER’S RIGHTS, see our page regarding FATHER’S RIGHTS IN OHIO.
For more information about MOTHER’S RIGHTS, see our page regarding MOTHER’S RIGHTS IN OHIO.
For more information about GRANDPARENT RIGHTS see our page regarding GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS IN OHIO.
For more information about obtaining CUSTODY, SHARED PARENTING, OR VISITATION in Ohio, see our post about OHIO CUSTODY.
For more information about SHARED PARENTING, see our post regarding SHARED PARENTING IN OHIO.
For more information about the rights of UNMARRIED PARENTS OR NEVER MARRIED PARENTS, see our post regarding UNMARRIED PARENTS IN OHIO.
For more information about DISSOLUTION, see our page regarding DISSOLUTION IN OHIO.
For more information about DIVORCE, see our page regarding DIVORCE IN OHIO.