Tulsa Paternity Determination Erases Doubt
Setting up paternity, or paternity determination, is the process of establishing who is the father of a child. People often consult a Tulsa paternity determination attorney when there is dispute over the parentage of a minor child.
When both parents of a child agree about who is the father, Oklahoma law provides an Acknowledgement of Paternity document. The easiest and cheapest way to complete the Acknowledgement of Paternity form is at birth in a hospital where the child is born.
The form may be completed later, but if the form isn’t completed at time of birth, the Oklahoma Department of Health charges a fee to set up paternity and to issue a new birth certificate with the father’s name included. Even when unwed parents get along, Tulsa paternity determination attorneys often advise parents to document the father’s role in the event circumstances change.
When a man doesn’t agree with a woman’s claim that he is the father, one or both may seek the help of a paternity determination attorney. Depending on the circumstances, a paternity determination attorney might persuade the father to sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity, or convince the mother that she’s identified the wrong man as the father.
When the dispute isn’t settled by negotiation, a paternity determination test may be required. A paternity test is a medical procedure to determine who is a person’s father.
DNA Tests Answer Paternity Questions
Paternity determination involves DNA tests of the child and the disputed father. Unlike the blood tests of old that could only rule out one in three men as the possible father, modern DNA testing can rule out 90% to 99% of the population as the likely father. When considered in the context of other evidence, DNA testing can result in highly reliable paternity determinations.
When you have a question about who is the father of a child, the advice of a Tulsa paternity determination attorney can provide you the confidence that your paternity tests will be conducted in a legally defensible yet compassionate manner. To schedule your initial strategy session with a Tulsa lawyer familiar with Oklahoma paternity determination laws, call Wirth Law Office today at 918-879-1681.
Why Ask for Paternity Determination?
Paternity determination tests are often associated with conflicts between parents of a minor child. That’s not the only reason people turn to science, the courts and paternity determination attorneys for answers about such a sensitive concern. Sometime the reasons involve sentiment or emotion, sometimes they are financial and sometimes the reasons people contact a paternity determination attorney are purely legal in nature. Common reasons people consult a Tulsa paternity determination attorney include circumstances where:
- He’s my child’s father. When a mother cannot persuade a man to affirm his role as the father of a child, sometimes she turns to the court to establish his role and to declare his paternal obligations. In those circumstances, a paternity determination test is sometimes required.
- It is my child. Biology favors mothers as early caregivers and objects of a child’s love. A man sometimes has no other way to show a child his love than to ask a court to establish his paternal role, sometimes over the mother’s objections.
- It is not my child. No matter how much a man might love a child, when a man faces a paternity suit his choices can take a back seat to court orders. Paternity determination can protect a man against false claims that can financially impair him.
- He’s not the father. Sometimes there’s no other way to persuade a man dearly attached to a child that he’s just not the father. A paternity determination test can provide a reliable answer.
- He’s my father. Children who were adopted often want to know who were their birth parents. Adoption laws protect the privacy of parents and children — but when both parties want to know, a paternity test can wipe away doubt.
- It is my inheritance. Especially in intestate probate, where no will has spelled out who will inherit an estate, a person might need to prove they are a legitimate heir through a paternity test.
- I need Social Security. Insurance adjusters or Social Security administrators sometimes require proof of paternity.
- My doctor needs to know. Paternity determination can be helpful in choosing the best treatment for some medical conditions.
Paternity determination can involve sensitive matters that don’t always require a court proceeding. When confidentiality and trust is at stake, a Tulsa paternity determination attorney can negotiate or give a stranger the assurances they require before they open themselves to a paternity determination where an adoption or a medical concern is involved.
What is a Paternity Determination Test?
Paternity tests can be conducted early in a pregnancy, but there are risks to the mother and to the developing baby. For that reason, prenatal paternity tests aren’t recommended to settle legal questions.
Recent advances in technology have made possible less-invasive “buccal swab” tests in which the DNA is collected from fluids swabbed from inside the cheek. Oklahoma law prefers buccal swab tests, which are more reliable means of establishing paternity because there’s more DNA in saliva than in blood. Results can be expected in four to six weeks after the test.
Swab tests have led to the marketing of home paternity determination tests. Such tests might be useful for personal reasons, but they don’t meet the evidentiary standards required in a paternity determination lawsuit. A Tulsa paternity determination attorney can advise you about the best way to establish or refute paternity claims.
Strategy Session: Tulsa Paternity Determination Lawyer
If you would like an initial strategy session with an Oklahoma lawyer about a paternity determination matter, call Wirth Law Office at 918-879-1681.
You may also submit the question form at the top right of this page.
