Legal Paternity Test
Legal Paternity Test
In a court of law, evidence is everything. In both criminal and civil cases, it is absolutely vital that you are able to prove your version of the facts using every means at your disposal. A legal paternity test can be the most powerful weapon in your arsenal in many types of cases. Whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant, a legal paternity test can be the best way of proving your case in court, or indeed in ensuring that you and the other party stay clear of the courts altogether.
Certain types of cases yield obvious application of a legal paternity test even to those whose only familiarity with the courts is from legal dramas in the films or on TV. Perhaps the most obvious is child support cases. In child support cases a legal paternity test can ensure that the right person pays the support which the law requires to bring up a child, in that child’s best interest. On the other hand, a legal paternity test can also ensure that a person who is not legally obliged to make these payments keeps their hard earned money. Whether ordered by the court or done independently, a legal paternity test is almost always a conclusive piece of evidence in these cases.
In divorce or other cases involving child custody, a legal paternity test can also be an important tool in either party’s legal case. If there is a question as to the actual fatherhood of the child for whom custody is an issue, the actual fatherhood of the child can be important. With a legal paternity test in these sorts of cases, the court is given an important thing to consider when deciding who to give custody of the child too: whether the purported father is in fact the father.
Inheritance cases are also prime applications for a legal paternity test. If a person’s will leaves their property to their children, it can be important to establish if given individuals are in fact their biological descendants. With a legal paternity test, false claimants can be excluded, ensuring that the actual children of the deceased receive their full entitlement (and, on the other side, valid claims can be substantiated).
Yet another type of case in which a legal paternity test can prove crucial is in immigration or visa cases. The law of immigration often contains special rules on bringing in descendant or dependants, and this can also bear on citizenship questions. With a legal paternity test, which can be ordered by the court or sough independently, these difficult questions can be resolved.
Finally, a legal paternity test can in many cases prove the issue in question before going to court. This saves both parties time and expense, and with the help of the legal paternity test an out of court settlement equitable to all can be more easily achieved. Legal paternity tests are eminently affordable-solicitor’s fees, court fees and the many other expenses involved in litigation are most certainly not.