About Paternity Testing   We can test Forensic Evidence to establish paternity when the father is not available for testing.  Establishing Paternity Establishing paternity means being declared the legal father after the child is born.  If the parents of a child were not married when the mother became pregnant or when the child was born, the child does not have a legal father until paternity is established. Establishing paternity is important for both the child and the parents.  A child is entitled to the sense of belonging and identity that comes from knowing both parents.  Establishing paternity often has an important emotional and psychological benefit for the child.  Also, until there is a determination that a biological father is the legal father, the child has no right to receive financial support from the father, to inherit from the father or to obtain insurance, veterans', social security or other benefits through the father.  Likewise, until paternity is legally established, the biological father has no legal rights to the child, such as parenting time with the child.  Additonally, he has no legal right to participate in major decisions about the child, such as medical treatment, education or religious training.  Additionally, genetic diseases are inherited, thus knowing your biological ancestry can be useful in proactive care and transplantation. Paternity laws tend to vary from state to state.  Visit http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/paternity-law-digest.htm for individual state laws.  The Uniform Parentage Act of 2002 by the National Conference of Uniform State Laws modernizes the law for determining the parents of children, and facilitates modern methods of testing for parentage.  Current scientific methods for determining paternity use the power of DNA to achieve highly accurate results. History of Paternity Testing Before DNA testing became available, several blood testing methods were used to determine paternity.  These tests, based on different blood group systems (BGS), were difficult to perform and often produced inconclusive results.  Most courts now accept only DNA test results as evidence for paternity cases. Paternity Fraud Paternity fraud, or the false identification of a man as the father of a child, is a serious problem in the US and throughout the world.  The LA Chapter of the National Coalition of Free Men estimates that there are over 7 million children in the US that are unknowingly calling the wrong person, Dad.  Paternity Fraud forces thousands of men each year to pay for children fathered by other men.  In many cases paternity is assigned by default without testing or appearance of the accused.  Recent legislative trends in some states are providing justice for the wrongfully accused.  On Sept. 28, 2004, California Governor Schwarzenegger signed assembly Bill (AB) 252 into law.  Visit http://www.childsup.ca.gov/pub/policy/css/2004/css04-30.pdf to review.  This Bill allows the court to set aside previously established paternity judgements and related child support orders if the court determines the father named in the court order is not the biological father of the child or children.  This trend is likely to echo through other states throughout the country. Method for Determining Paternity When selecting a paternity test there are two types of Paternity tests. 1. Private or Peace of Mind 2. Legal The only difference between a Private (Peace of Mind) and a Legal test is the method of collection.  A private paternity test is self administered and can be accompished by testing only the alleged father and the child.  A Legal paternity test is very similar to a private paternity test.  The primary difference is that the samples must be collected by a competent person with no interest in the outcome.  Samples are collected, identification will be verified, photograph will be taken and sample collection witnessed.  Legal paternity tests are required for consideration by the courts. Commonly Asked Questions Can the test be done without testing the mother? Yes, but it is better to test the mother if possible.  Her genetic profile should be compared to the child's, to exclude alleles in common.  Otherwise testing of the alleged father to determine paternity must be more extensive to acheive a probablility of paternity of 99.9999%.  Testing of the mother is basically free of charge, as testing costs are the same to encourage testing the mother whenever possible. Can a Paternity test be performed before the baby is born? Yes, but it generally is not a good idea.  Amniocentesis is an invasive procedure that involves inserting a needle into the  mother's abdomen to withdraw a small amount (10 ml) of amniotic fluid from the amniotic sac which surrounds the developing fetus.  This procedure can lead to damage or loss of the baby in up to 1% of cases.  As a result, it is recommended that patients wait until the baby is born unless they are already undergoing this procedure for medical reasons.  A sample can be collected after the birthing process and done by buccal cheek swabs and is completey safe and painless for the baby.  We advise waiting when you can. Can we give our specimans at different times? Yes, we can set separate appointments and collect samples separately, even if you live in different cities.  We have collection facilities across the United States and our office can schedule your appointment at a site nearest each of you..   A photograph and ID is obtained from everyone tested along with a SS#.  This allows the photographs and ID's of alleged father, mother and child to be viewed and identity verified in the case of an undesirable, surprising or controversial result. Can a test be performed if the alleged father is not available? Yes, known relatives of the father can be tested instead.  The best situation is if the alleged father's parents are available. If not, we can use other relatives such as siblings or known children of the alleged father.  If you need a paternity test without the alleged father's speciman, it is best to call TLC Drug & Paternity Testing and discuss your specific situation.  We will get the answers for you. Can two siblings determine if they have the same father? Usually DNA samples from only two siblings would not be sufficient and samples from other relatives are helpful in the analysis.  It generally requires at least two direct relatives of the alleged father.  A direct relative is a biological parent, full sibling or known child. Isn't blood better than cheek swabs? No, your DNA is the same throughout your body.  The DNA from your cheek cells is exactly the same as the DNA from your blood.  The accuracy of a paternity test is exactly the same, whether the laboratory tests blood or cells from swabs. Is the test confidential?  Who can get the results? The test is completely confidential.  The mother of the child and all adults tested are entitled to receive the results of the test as well as an attorney specified.  No one else is allowed any information about the test without your permission.  However, the mother and alleged father are not able to receive personal information about each other such as addresses or social security numbers, etc. Click here for prices

KINSHIP TESTING

Y Chromosome Every individual is a mosaic of their mother and father resulting from a blending of the DNA they receive from each.  An exception is the Y chromosome, which is found only in men and is passed down unchanged from father to son just like a surname.  Any sons a man fathers will also carry this identical Y chromosome, making it easy to track through generations.   In circumstances where an alleged father is unavailable for testing or deceased, a male child can be tested against any number of his male relatives including, but not limited to, other known male children, brothers and half brothers with the same father, uncles, grandfather, and grandfather's brothers.  In this same fashion brother's and half brother's can find out if they are actually that. Limitations Since the Y chromosome is only found in males, this type of testing is not useful for female off-spring.  Similarly this test is not iron clad for paternity in circumstances where there are two related alleged fathers.   Thomas Jefferson DNA Study This technique was recently used to determine if Thomas Jefferson (1743-1819), the third President of the United States,  fathered Eston Hemings.  In 1802, during his first term as President, he was accused of fathering illegitimate children with Sally Hemings, a slave at his home, Monticello.  The study compared nineteen (19) genetic markers on the Y chromosome from five Jefferson descendants and one male line descendent of Eston Hemings, Sally Hemings' last son, born in 1808.  Analysis of the Jefferson and Hemings lines revealed an identical genetic match of a distinct genetic profile that is conserved within the Jefferson family. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, who owns and operates Monticello, commissioned a research committee to evaluate the DNA study.  The committee concluded there was a high probablility that Thomas Jefferson fathered Eston Hemings, and that he most likely was the father of all six of Sally Hemings' cildren appearing in Jefferson's estate records.   Twins of the World Identical: 33% Fraternal: 67% Approximately one in every fifty Americans is a twin, two thirds of which are fraternal and one third identical.  Triplets occur once in every 8000 deliveries.  Identical twins are formed when one egg is fertilized by a single sperm cell and then divides within the first few days of pregnancy.  If division of the egg occurs after 8 days, this can result in conjoined twins, also known as Siamese twins.  Twins produced by this process are referred to as identical since their DNA sequence is identical.  While the twins are identical genetically, this often does not apply to the actual physical or behavioral traits.  Generally their traits are similar, however they can differ.  The occurence and distribution of identical twins in the population appears randomly and does not matter when, where, or to whom they were born.  Fraternal twins are formed when two eggs are independently fertilized by two sperm cells.  Fraternal twins do not have identical DNA but will have half of their DNA in common, just like siblings of the same parents that are born at differnt times.  Fraternal twins can either be of the same sex or different sex.  The ocurrence of fraternal twins varries substantially in frequency around the world.  They are common in the pregnancies of older women, especially common in Africans, and relatively rare among those of Asian heritage.  Twin classification done at delivery often results in misidentification.  For example, approximately 25-33% of identical twins have two sets of chorionic membranes.  Unless a DNA or other blood test was performed, it is difficult to accurately determine if twins are fraternal or identical. Forensics DNA crime scene evidence from an identical twin can hinder prosectuiion because two people have identical genetic markers.