Chain of Custody Matters: Ensuring Your Prenatal Paternity Results are Court-Admissible

Paternity and relationship testing can be used in a number of ways, including establishing parental rights, determining child support, and resolving inheritance disputes.

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Determining the parentage of a child through DNA is an evolving process that only gets more accurate over time. With new developments in DNA technology, using prenatal paternity tests is possible to help potential fathers determine their responsibilities.

If you’re wondering how to ensure your prenatal paternity results are admissible in court, follow this guide to learn more about navigating every part of the process.

Takeaways:

• Paternity tests are typically requested by the court to determine child support responsibilities and settle inheritance disputes.
• To ensure your test is admissible in court, it must follow a strict chain of custody that includes choosing an accredited lab, following documentation protocol, and including a neutral third-party observer.
• Some tests you may consider include a non-invasive prenatal paternity test, twin zygosity testing, and missing parent testing.
• An accredited lab will submit the results directly to the court on your behalf. Results that indicate a probability of parentage 99% or higher indicate paternity.

When Is a Paternity Test Admissible?

Chain of custody is the most important aspect of the admissibility of your paternity test to the court. First, your paternity test must be conducted by an accredited laboratory, ensuring all samples are collected, stored, and labeled safely and accurately. The lab must leave no room for error, contamination, or tampering by meeting the specific standards set forth by the American Association of Blood Banks.

Sometimes, a neutral third party must be involved in collecting the samples to ensure the integrity and maintenance of the samples. Look for state-specific regulations regarding sample collections to determine the best course of action for your situation.

What Makes a Paternity Test Inadmissible?

There are a few things that may disqualify a paternity test from court proceedings, including:

• Lack of Chain of Custody: Some ways chain of custody may be disrupted include a lack of documentation that tracks the sample from collection to analysis, missing identification of the people involved in the collection and storage process, and no use of tamper-prevention packaging.

• Using A Non-Accredited Lab: Your sample must be collected, tested, and maintained by a laboratory accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks to be admissible in court.

• Contaminated Sample Collection: Your sample must come from an acceptable source, like blood, buccal swab, or other biological material, and sample collection should be observed by a neutral third party. Friends and family cannot collect or fulfill the observation requirement for sample collection.

• Home Tests: Self-ordered tests conducted at home are not typically admissible in court. There is no chain of custody to ensure appropriate sample collection and testing.

Types of Admissible Paternity Tests

Depending on your circumstances, you may have to explore various paternity test options to find the one that fits your needs in court. A few of the different paternity tests you might consider include:

• Prenatal Paternity Test: A non-invasive prenatal paternity test is one conducted before the birth of the child. An OBGYN may collect samples by inserting a needle into the uterus to get DNA from the amniotic fluid or taking a sample from the placenta via chorionic villus sampling. 

However, with a non-invasive prenatal paternity test, all that’s needed is a blood sample from the mother and a cheek swab from the father. This is a safe paternity test because no needles go near the baby.

• Twin Zygosity Test: If you’re testing twins, you may have to conduct this type of paternity test. Identical twins born of the same egg and sperm combination will have the same DNA, while fraternal twins developed from two different eggs and sperm will not have the same DNA.

• Missing Parent Test: In some cases, one or both of the parents may be missing or deceased. In this situation, the alleged grandparents can stand in for DNA testing. These tests are most accurate if the mother’s DNA is available.

Process of Admitting Paternity Tests to Court

The process for admitting a paternity test in court must follow these guidelines to be deemed admissible:

1. Collect the sample in a controlled environment. A trained professional must collect the sample (usually a buccal swab inside the cheek), and a neutral observer may need to be present.

2. The lab collecting the sample will verify the identity of those involved using government identification and photographs for documentation.

3. Results for a non-invasive prenatal paternity test may take between 5–10 business days. Your paperwork will state a percentage for the probability of paternity. Anything over 99% indicates paternity.

4. The laboratory you choose will send the paternity results directly to the court to maintain the integrity of the chain of custody.

How to Use Paternity Test Results

Paternity and relationship testing can be used in a number of ways, including establishing parental rights, determining child support, and resolving inheritance disputes. Because DNA testing offers highly accurate results, they typically serve as strong evidence in court – as long as your paternity test follows the lab accreditation and chain of custody requirements.

Are Paternity Tests Covered by Insurance?

Usually, paternity tests are not covered by health insurance, as they are deemed legally necessary rather than medically necessary. Insurance will only cover medically necessary procedures, and even then, you must meet a variety of other criteria determined by your insurance carrier before they will confirm coverage. Sometimes, a non-invasive prenatal paternity test is covered if it’s related to a medical issue involving the mother or child.

Since court-ordered paternity tests are used in legal proceedings, they are excluded from benefits. Whether you’re testing to determine child support obligations or settle inheritance concerns, the court will expect you to cover the cost of sample collection and admission to court.

How Much Does A Paternity Test Cost?

The cost of a paternity test depends on the type of testing you choose.

• At-Home Testing: Ranges from $75 to $200. May not be legally admissible.
• Accredited Testing: Ranges between $300 and $500. Must follow the chain of custody requirements.
• Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Test: These require highly skilled medical practitioners and may cost more than $1,500.

There may also be extra charges to expedite the results, as well as a fee for a neutral third party to observe sample collection. Services that offer strict chain-of-custody, non-invasive prenatal paternity tests and are equipped to guide their clients every step of the way from the first consultation often have no additional fees.

If you’re concerned about the cost of testing, reach out to local nonprofit and legal aid organizations for assistance.

What Now?

If you’ve been court-ordered to submit a paternity test, check the American Association of Blood Banks website for accredited labs near you that can collect the samples and submit results on your behalf. You may also choose to speak with a lawyer about your rights and responsibilities, depending on the results of the test.