Is paternity established through a court or via DNA testing?

In California, paternity—the legal recognition of a child’s father—can be established through either a court order or DNA testing. In court, a mother, purported father, child, or a public agency may request a paternity determination. In this process, both parties present evidence regarding the paternity of the child, and the judge then either orders the father to provide financial support, acknowledges paternity of the father, or finds that the alleged father is not the father of the child. DNA testing is another method used to establish paternity in California. A man suspected of being the father of a child can voluntarily submit to a paternity test, or a court can order him to do so. The biological father’s genetic information is then compared to the child’s in order to determine paternity. If the test is conducted in a California court, the results of the test are considered official and binding. Both of these methods are used to establish paternity in California, and the decision of which one to use can be based on the circumstances of the case. If a man is unsure of his paternity of a child and refuses to acknowledge it, DNA testing is the most effective way to determine paternity. However, if both parties voluntarily recognize paternity, then a court order may be more appropriate.

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Is paternity established through a court or via DNA testing?

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