Understanding Genetic Testing in Family Law
Let’s talk about genetic testing in child custody cases. I’m Tulsa family law attorney Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office in Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family law for about seven years now, and I want to make law easy by talking a little bit about when genetic testing comes into play and how it’s going to look for you.
So this doesn’t happen as often as people would think, at least not in my experience. Usually, if you’re in a situation where someone’s asking for genetic testing, obviously it’s because there’s a question about who the father is. You won’t see this very often in divorce cases, but now and then you will.
When Genetic Testing Becomes Necessary
Recently I had a case that got very weird very fast because my client was married to the mom. The child was born, I think, right before they were married or maybe just after—I can’t remember specifically—but it was also within so many days of the mom having been divorced from her ex-husband. That got hairy because, under Oklahoma law, any child born within 300 days after a divorce is granted is deemed to be a child of the marriage.
Also under Oklahoma law, if you have a child with someone and then you marry them, it just kind of goes back and retroactively establishes paternity. And so those two ended up conflicting, and we had a situation where it was just like, who’s the dad, who isn’t the dad, what do we do? Ultimately, we had to get genetic testing done to be able to figure that out.
Common Scenarios Involving Genetic Testing
Not every case is going to be that crazy. Usually, more often than not, it’s just a situation where a casual fling turns into a child, and you have to kind of go back and figure out who’s the father. If you know who it is, and the father also says, hey, yeah, I’m dad, they can sign an acknowledgment of paternity, get listed on the birth certificate, and establish a presumption of paternity.
Then, regardless of which side files a paternity case, they can just stipulate to, yes, I’m the dad, and yes, he’s the dad. This only comes into play when you need to get genetic testing done if mom files a case against John Doe when John says, hey, I’m not the father, Jim is. Or John files a case against Mom, and Mom says, no, you’re not the dad; it’s this other guy instead. It can get kind of hairy.
Ensuring Accurate Paternity Results
If that’s the case that you’re looking at, definitely I want you to reach out to us. Genetic testing is very important because it’s crucial to make sure that you know who the father is. That way, one, your child can know their dad, and two, so that way the father can know that they have a child and do what’s necessary to take responsibility for that child.
Start with a Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
If you have questions about this or if you need help with it, please give us a call. I’m Oklahoma family lawyer Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office, and I want to make law easy. Call us today at 918-879-1681 for a low-cost initial strategy session to discuss your case.
