Denton Family Law Attorneys

Paternity Testing

It wasn’t until just a few years ago that paternity testing became faster and more accurate than it ever has been. Courts use these results for child support and other reasons in family court processes. The test is fairly simple and doesn’t take long for the lab to get the results back to you.

Paternity testing is actually DNA testing to make sure that the DNA of the child have a certain amount of matches to the in question father. There are two methods that labs will use to check the DNA. The first method is PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction. This is the most widely used method of DNA testing that is used in the field right now. The only downside to using this method is that usually they only test between six and nine DNA locations so you don’t receive as much information as you would using the other method of DNA testing. The second method is RFLP or Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. This method is the older of the two methods that has been used by many people for years. This method is the more reliable of the two because it tests four or more DNA locations. The scientists have said that this will most often produce a higher probability for paternity. The only downside to this method is the amount of time it takes to complete the test. It usually only takes between 10 and 14 days which if you have the time, you should most likely take this test instead.

For more information, contact Denton Family Law Attorneys of Alexander and Associates at 972-420-6560.