HOW DO COURTS DECIDE WHO THE FATHER IS?

DNA CENTRE FOR PATERNITY TEST NIGERIA

A judge can use tests called “genetic marker tests” to decide who the father is. A judge can order the biological mother, the man who may be the father, and the child to have paternity tests.  After reviewing the test results and any other relevant information, the judge will decide if the man is the father of the child.

***A judge may order paternity testing even if the mother is not available.

DNA Centre is located at 73 Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos. Tel : 07059999333; 07059999444.

Who cannot file a Complaint to Establish Paternity?

Sometimes, a man who says he is the father is not allowed to file a Complaint to Establish Paternity.  He cannot file a Complaint to Establish Paternity if:

• the mother was or is married to another person and
• the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days of the end of the marriage. The marriage can end with by death, annulment, or divorce.

Who can file a Complaint to Establish Paternity?

• The mother;
• A person who says he is the father;
• The child, even if he or she is under 18 years old;
• The child's guardian, next of kin or caretaker;
• The mother’s parent;
• The mother’s parent or someone the mother asked to represent her, if she died or abandoned her child;
• The father’s parent or someone the father asked to represent him, if he died his child;
• The father’s  personal representative, if the father has died;
• An agency that has custody of the child, like the Department of Children and Families; or
• The Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division if the child ever got public assistance like welfare or MassHealth.

INFIDELITY IS 'NATURAL'

Females 'stray to gather the best possible genes for their offspring'

Infidelity may be natural according to studies that show nine out of 10 mammals and birds that mate for life are unfaithful.

Experts found animals that fool around are only following the urges of biology.

New studies using genetic testing techniques show that even the most apparently devoted of partners often go in search of the sexual company of strangers.

Females stray to gather the best possible genes for their offspring, while males are driven to father as many and as often as possible.

"True monogamy actually is rare," said Stephen T Emlen, an expert on evolutionary behaviour at Cornell University.

According to him, there are two kinds of monogamy - social and genetic.

In the first kind partners bond and work together to raise their young. With "genetic monogamy," parents are faithful sex partners.

While social monogamy is relatively common, genetic monogamy is the exception rather than the rule.

Dr Emlen said there are only two monkeys, the marmoset and the tamarin, are truly monogamous.

All other primates, includes humans, often mate outside their partnerships.

"One of the patterns is that females seek males of high status and high quality," said Dr Emlen.

"By doing so, they are able to produce offspring of higher quality that will be able to do better and survive better."

Males are said to be biologically driven to stray by the desire to spread their genes into as many members of the next generation as possible.

But the reasons why people have sex outside a relationship are far more complex.

Researchers generally believe that monogamy originated among species whose young survived best when raised by a bonded pair.

This may have led to the rise of monogamy among people, since human children take so long to mature.

Birds of a feather

Faithful sex partnership has been thought for years to be widespread among birds.

The eastern bluebird was considered a prime example, with male and female partners working together to build nests, incubate eggs, then feed and raise their young.

But researchers have found that the bluebirds have a sex life that rivals a television soap opera.

Patricia Adair Gowarty, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Georgia, has found that 15% to 20% of chicks cared for by a pair of bluebirds were not fathered by the male.

She found that only 10% of 180 socially monogamous species are sexually faithful.

The research is published in the journal Science.

Can You Cheat at A Paternity Test?

The answer is simple, Yes you can, but you will get caught! 
DNA Paternity Testing is the most accepted method of confirming a biological relationship between an alleged father and biological child. There are two types of tests you can perform. The legal or court admissible test where the collection of the samples is performed with a controlled chain-of-custody procedure with usually a doctor or registered nurse to act as a witness and verify the authenticity of the samples. Then there is the Home DNA test whereby the client purchases a DNA testing kit and is responsible for collecting their own samples.

The home test is commonly known as Peace of Mind Testing.
The legal test of course provides an almost cheat proof system. Samples are taken in the presence of a registered nurse or doctor and is accompanied by legally binding documents. However for the home DNA test, as the individuals are responsible for collecting their own samples, this gives opportunity to cheat on the test. This can be done by submitting someone else's sample which will without doubt lead to a negative result.
We cannot know if the samples provided are of the correct person (s). In fact, it is quite normal for a DNA test result to clearly state that the samples have not been verified and hence the report cannot be used in a court of law.
Only in cases where the samples submitted are of the wrong sex will our laboratory question the samples. The Amelogenin gene, a standard part of a DNA paternity test will confirm the sex of the samples. 

Also submitting the sample of an animal, example swabbing a dog will also be picked up by the laboratory as it will not be possible to conclude the test.
Once the samples are processed, our laboratory is in a position to issue a DNA profile that is unique to each individual. Whilst the result will of course be erroneous, however should a correct sample be obtained the new profile can be easily matched to the old profile to confirm if they belong to the same individual. 

If you are suspicious that an individual might cheat on the test you have the following options:

1. Perform the swabbing procedure in the presence of all parties and make sure to seal and send yourself the samples to the laboratory.


2. If it is not possible to be present at the same time or location have the samples taken in front of a neutral third party who will act as an independent witness to the collection.


3. Conduct a legal test. Clients do not normally cheat. Most clients want to find out the truth. 

However, in cases where there has been an attempt to cheat, the negative result were always challenged by the mother who will obtain the correct sample for re-testing. Mothers can also want to cheat at a paternity test. 

Mothers who know that it is likely that the man being tested is NOT the biological father will try to contaminate the child's swab with there own DNA, as they think this will provide a negative result without the laboratory noticing. Our laboratory will pick up this contamination, re-testing will be required. The truth more often than not does surface. Our process maybe easy, and yes there are clients who believe they can cheat the system. But it really is not that easy.

My Child’s Father Wants to Know ‘Who’s the Daddy’—but He’s the One Who’s Been Cheating

Dear DNA Centre,
I've been in a relationship for three years. We moved in together after I got pregnant, and our son is now 2 months old. I've never been unfaithful. He cheated early on. He said he wants a paternity test. I'm positive that our son is his, and I'm offended that he would question if he is the father.—Anonymous

I get why you're offended. His asking for a paternity test implies that he has some doubts about being the father and that you may have been having sex with someone else—and, worse, doing so unprotected. In so many words, he's saying that he doesn't really trust you. Because you've mentioned his infidelity all these years later, I'm guessing that it's still a sore spot for you, despite the fact that you stayed with him. You've got to be thinking, "Hold up. You cheated and I didn't leave, and then you come through with this?!"

I'm sure you're angry. You have a right to be. And I'm sure that he knew you would be, but he asked anyway. I get why he did. Stories abound about men who believed a child to be theirs biologically, only to discover later that the child was not, sometimes after years of paying child support. This is a great fear of many men, and although it's exploited for amusement on talk shows like Maury, it's not entirely unfounded.

Some years ago, The Atlantic ran a story by Steve Olson on "nonpaternity events," the geneticist's term for a guy who may be a father, but not biologically.

"[Geneticists] rarely publish their findings, but the numbers are common knowledge within the genetics community,” Olson wrote. "In graduate school, genetics students typically are taught that 5 to 15 percent of the men on birth certificates are not the biological fathers of their children. In other words, as many as one of every seven men who proudly carry their newborn children out of a hospital could be a cuckold." A later New York Times story on paternity testing included a statistic that said 30 percent of men who question whether they are the father are actually right to question.

So yeah, it's not entirely unheard of for some women to lie or be mistaken about the paternity of their child. I get why an unmarried man, even one who actually trusts his partner, would ask for a test in order to be doubly sure for his own peace of mind.

Here's another rub: In some cases, even when the man discovers that the child isn't biologically his, after years of paying support, not only doesn't he get a refund for the money spent on someone else's biological child, but he is also mandated to continue paying. In other cases, men have been forced to pay just because their partner put their name on the birth certificate, even though DNA proved that the child wasn't theirs.

Beyond finances, it's also emotionally devastating to find out that a child you thought was "yours," biologically speaking, is not.

A few months ago, a guy wrote in to Ask Belle with a similar story. His longtime live-in girlfriend and mother of his child had broken up with him. To spite her, he asked for a paternity test for their son, specifically to make her feel the way you do right now. Well, he took the kid to get tested and discovered that his 4-year-old was not biologically his. "The mother has to back pay me yet that doesn't make me feel any better," he wrote. "I know men aren't supposed to cry, but everything is hurting even my toenails."

Idris Elba expressed a similar sentiment in GQ about his discovery that his son was not biologically his: "The celebration of having a son, from a man's perspective, it's massive," he told the magazine. "To be given that and then have it taken away so harshly was like taking a full-on punch in the face: POW.”

Not that your partner actually needs your consent to have the child tested, but agree to it anyway as a formality so that this doesn't become a bigger issue. What you don't want is a man shirking his responsibilities as a father (or mistreating the child) because he questions whether the child is his.

Once your partner's paternity is established, have a serious conversation about the lingering (or ongoing) trust issues in your relationship. Also consider family counseling to address the lingering resentment you have about his infidelity and, possibly, your resentment about his concern over paternity and his mistrust of you. Even if this relationship fizzles out, both of you need to be trusting enough and tolerant of each other to properly co-parent the child you share

DNA CENTRE FOR PATERNITY TEST-NIGERIA

 

DNA CENTRE FOR PATERNITY TEST-NIGERIA
Dear DNA Centre,
I've been in a relationship for three years. We moved in together after I got pregnant, and our son is now 2 months old. I've never been unfaithful. He cheated early on. He said he wants a paternity test. I'm positive that our son is his, and I'm offended that he would question if he is the father? —Anonymous

I get why you're offended. His asking for a paternity test implies that he has some doubts about being the father and that you may have been having sex with someone else—and, worse, doing so unprotected. In so many words, he's saying that he doesn't really trust you. Because you've mentioned his infidelity all these years later, I'm guessing that it's still a sore spot for you, despite the fact that you stayed with him. You've got to be thinking, "Hold up. You cheated and I didn't leave, and then you come through with this?!"

I'm sure you're angry. You have a right to be. And I'm sure that he knew you would be, but he asked anyway. I get why he did. Stories abound about men who believed a child to be theirs biologically, only to discover later that the child was not, sometimes after years of paying child support. This is a great fear of many men, and although it's exploited for amusement on talk shows like Maury, it's not entirely unfounded.

Some years ago, The Atlantic ran a story by Steve Olson on "nonpaternity events," the geneticist's term for a guy who may be a father, but not biologically.

"[Geneticists] rarely publish their findings, but the numbers are common knowledge within the genetics community,” Olson wrote. "In graduate school, genetics students typically are taught that 5 to 15 percent of the men on birth certificates are not the biological fathers of their children. In other words, as many as one of every seven men who proudly carry their newborn children out of a hospital could be a cuckold." A later New York Times story on paternity testing included a statistic that said 30 percent of men who question whether they are the father are actually right to question.

So yeah, it's not entirely unheard of for some women to lie or be mistaken about the paternity of their child. I get why an unmarried man, even one who actually trusts his partner, would ask for a test in order to be doubly sure for his own peace of mind.

Here's another rub: In some cases, even when the man discovers that the child isn't biologically his, after years of paying support, not only doesn't he get a refund for the money spent on someone else's biological child, but he is also mandated to continue paying. In other cases, men have been forced to pay just because their partner put their name on the birth certificate, even though DNA proved that the child wasn't theirs.

Beyond finances, it's also emotionally devastating to find out that a child you thought was "yours," biologically speaking, is not.

A few months ago, a guy wrote in to Ask Belle with a similar story. His longtime live-in girlfriend and mother of his child had broken up with him. To spite her, he asked for a paternity test for their son, specifically to make her feel the way you do right now. Well, he took the kid to get tested and discovered that his 4-year-old was not biologically his. "The mother has to back pay me yet that doesn't make me feel any better," he wrote. "I know men aren't supposed to cry, but everything is hurting even my toenails."

Idris Elba expressed a similar sentiment in GQ about his discovery that his son was not biologically his: "The celebration of having a son, from a man's perspective, it's massive," he told the magazine. "To be given that and then have it taken away so harshly was like taking a full-on punch in the face: POW.”

Not that your partner actually needs your consent to have the child tested, but agree to it anyway as a formality so that this doesn't become a bigger issue. What you don't want is a man shirking his responsibilities as a father (or mistreating the child) because he questions whether the child is his.

Once your partner's paternity is established, have a serious conversation about the lingering (or ongoing) trust issues in your relationship. Also consider family counseling to address the lingering resentment you have about his infidelity and, possibly, your resentment about his concern over paternity and his mistrust of you. Even if this relationship fizzles out, both of you need to be trusting enough and tolerant of each other to properly co-parent the child you share