In most cases, before doing a legal paternity test
, you will be advised to do an at home test. This will especially be the case if you are not in court yet and if you only you bear suspicions about the paternity of the child. For example if you are already the legally recognized father but suspect you might not be the biological father you could do a paternity test to clear your doubts. In this case, an at home test will suffice. If the results of the at home test show you are in fact the biological father then there is no need to take matters to court. The issue will be different if the result shows you are not the father. You might then wish to go to court.
The results of a paternity test for both legal or peace of mind purposes will be equally accurate, In fact if the alleged father is the biological father of the child then the result will show a probability of paternity that will be higher than 99.9%. If the alleged father is not the biological father of the child, the probability of paternity will be 0%.
Why not do a legal paternity test in the first place?
Legal paternity testing is much more tedious and costly. You will normally need to do this following a court order. Once you have received the court order, you will need to find a company that provides legal paternity testing. A legal test is done following what is referred to as a chain of custody which means that all DNA samples must be verified and the people taking part in the test must also provide identification which will help verify the provenance of all DNA samples. Often a doctor or qualified nurse is actually appointed to take the DNA samples and sign the necessary documentation. Standard sampling procedure for a paternity test is rubbing an oral swab in the mouth to collect cheek cells; the simplicity of this procedure makes it perfectly adapt for children and adults.
You can even go ahead and do legal paternity testing if you know you will need to present the results in court- whatever your case, it is always advisable to seek the advice of a lawyer.
Legal tests may appear to be somewhat complex and in fact, it does require more time and money. This is why home tests is recommended as a first test and then carry out a legal paternity test only if absolutely necessary.