Paternity disputes seem to be rampant in this day and age and in many cases involve maintenance payments and custody, a child support paternity test is often required by courts to show a proof of relationship; such proof will get the child all the rights as bestowed on him or her by the laws of most countries.
The Reality of Paternity in This day and Age
Statistics that are accurate are hard to come by given the nature of the subject. However, depending on the country, the number of children that are not being raised by the biological father, often unwittingly, is quite high. Thus, many fathers are being confronted with the dilemma- is this child mine? Have I been paying for child support and making alimony payments for all these years for a child that is not my biological child? Have I been cheated out of money by my wife?
Of course it is not only fathers who are in a difficult situation; many single mothers have been raising a child without child support from the father- a father who refuses to accept his duties as father.
How does one rectify these situations? A child support paternity test can do much to change things and many countries acknowledge the legal power of this test over any other claims regarding paternity. However, things are not the same throughout the world; in some countries, one you have registered a father on the birth certificate, even a paternity DNA test disproving that man as the father cannot change it. Luckily, in the vast majority of Western countries being armed with a legal paternity test is a solid legal weapon.
It is not at all unusual for surprises to come at the most unexpected times in one’s life; an X girlfriend turns up demanding child support payments for a child you did not even know you had. Is it actually your child? At the point in which this happens you may already have your own family and children and such an experience can be very traumatic for everybody.
Paternity testing to solve such disputes needs to be done legally which will ensure that the results are valid and that nobody has tampered with them. In certain countries and US states, a paternity test that excludes a father from being the biological dad can stop paying support towards children and mother. Elsewhere, there may be a time-limit in which to make any paternity claims to disprove the matter. Child support paternity testing is a means of bringing fairness and solving issues- at least in most cases.