Years ago, you had to go to a laboratory to find out whether or not you were the father of a child. You had to do the same if you wanted to find out if someone was your father. Today, people count on home paternity testing as a simpler, faster, and more private alternative. The labs created kits with everything a person needs to take the samples. Instead of having to go to the lab, you take the samples at home. Then you send them to the lab and wait for the results. Thanks to this new method, people no longer have to make an appointment, wait until a certain date, or waste time traveling to the lab for a paternity test. The best part is that it is much cheaper than what these tests used to cost in the past.
How does it work?
Laboratories use DNA to find out if there is a biological connection between the two people. In the past, DNA used to be extracted from a blood sample, which used to be stressful for people who hated needles. Nowadays, only a saliva sample is needed from each of the people to be tested. The kit the lab sends you has two pairs of swabs, one pair for the child and one pair for the alleged father. You just rub these swabs against the inside of the cheeks of each person who will take part in the test. You then store the swabs in protective containers that also come with the kit and fill out the information requested by the laboratory. You must identify each sample correctly to avoid problems when analyzing them. You will get the results in 3 or 4 days after the laboratory has received the samples.
What can you do with the results?
People often think that a paternity test is only used when a person doubts his or her partner. However, the results of the test can be used in several scenarios such as to get parental rights to a child, to establish the amount of child support, to access an inheritance, or even to access a nationality. Depending on the intended use of the paternity test results, choose between a test with legal validity and one without legal validity. If you will only use the results as a means of information, you do not need legal validity. However, if you will use the results in a legal proceeding, you will need a different type of test.