By:  Liane Galardi, Esq. 

A DNA test costing less than $150, with confidential results available from the lab within days, is the first to be sold over the counter. Utah-based Identigene offers the test and promises peace of mind to those who need it.  

The collection kit costs about $30 and there is an additional $119 charge for the lab processing of the DNA samples which are collected by cheek swabs. Users swab the inside of the mouth to collect a DNA sample which is then sent to Identigene with consent forms and fees in a postage-paid return envelope. Confidential results are available in three to five days via mail, email, or through a secured website. Although a swab from the mother is strongly recommended, it is not required in order to receive the results.  

These tests are not legally binding because they lack the verification that the samples are from the people listed on the forms that are sent to the lab. Identigene does have a legally valid test that costs $350. The company refers users of this test to a DNA collection site that oversees the collection process and identity verification.  

I struggle to find reasons why anyone would go through the DNA testing to find out who the father of a child is without wanting to present the results to a court at some point. Maybe to satisfy curiosity, but what about the married man who tests his child without telling his wife? Nothing will change if the child is his, but what if the child turns out not to be his? Will the divorce rate in this country continue to rise? Will we see more domestic violence? Will we see more murders?    

What about the married father who pays the extra money for the legally binding test? Or the divorced father who is paying child support? Those fathers are presumed to be the fathers by the courts, especially if the child was conceived during the marriage.   Most states only allow a small window of time to challenge paternity.  

It now becomes a fundamental question of fairness. Someone is going to lose – either the father forced to pay child support for a child who isn’t his or the child who loses the financial support. The child also loses the parent-child bond which is so important to the development of a child.  

Courts are reluctant to terminate child support and reverse paternity, even when it is proven that the man is not the biological father, because they do not want to rip a child from the only father he or she has known.  

How will these new readily available tests affect these issues? Will the states slowly come around to allow a father to terminate child support if he can prove he is not the biological father even if it is years after the birth of the child?  

It will be an interesting issue to follow through the courts for the next couple of years.

If you have questions about paternity, I would suggest that you speak with an attorney who handles these issues to discuss your legal options.