Paternity Testing

Parentage is a matter of fact. However, in some cases it may become a matter in dispute between the parties. Accordingly, the law presumes parentage in certain circumstances. The Family Law Act has broken this presumption into the following five categories, namely:

• The presumption of paternity from marriage;
• The presumption of paternity from cohabitation;
• The presumption of paternity from an entry in the register of births or parentage information;
• The presumption of paternity from a court finding; or
• The presumption of paternity from an acknowledgement of paternity by the father.

If no proof of parentage or presumption of paternity exists, it will be necessary to officially establish parentage. A paternity test can do this by establishing who the biological father of the child is. This is done through DNA analysis of the parties involved, otherwise known as “DNA typing”.

Parties can agree to undertake this testing, or alternatively the parties may be ordered by the Court. For this to occur the parentage of the child must be “in issue” and there must be evidence to place the parentage of the child in doubt, such as geographical separation at the approximate time of conception. In other words, it cannot simply be a suspicion of the parties.

Wiltshire Lawyers understands that paternity issues do arise. Our trained solicitors are able to take you through the necessary steps to determine whether a party is the biological father of the child. Our firm uses only trusted DNA Laboratories that are Federal Attorney General approved with National Association of Testing Authorities Accreditation.

Paternity can then be determined with a probability greater than 99.9%. After the testing has been administered, the results are returned to our firm within 5 – 8 working days. Parties are then able to resolve other disputes stemming from this issue such as child support.