How to prove paternity?

[Dennis]

Hi.

If you only have a mother's say so that some fellow was your biological father, what can you do to make it legal if the chap is deceased, cremated & ashes dispersed?


dennis

[joette]

If he has other offspring or siblings it may be possible to make a DNA match but it off course would not be as reliable as from the possible biological Father.
I think you can do a Grandparent match too but I am not sure how that works or how accurate it is.

[Currie]

Hello Dennis,

It probably depends on what you mean by ‘make it legal’. Is it to do with a claim against an estate or is it just a desire to amend official records for genealogical purposes or sentimental reasons.

I’m sure it would be possible for a woman to nominate whoever she cared to as the father of a child whether it was true or not. If the father doesn’t confess, or is no longer around then it would have to be proven in some other way. Is the mother living? If so it is just her word against whose? And if she’s not living, can anyone prove that she and the alleged father had a relationship at a particular time, were living at a particular place at that particular time, or even that they knew each other.

First I image that you would have to settle in your own mind that it is fact. Joette has mentioned DNA and that would involve approaching the family of the alleged father. While you’re there you could get a photograph of him and the alleged child at a similar age and compare them for similarities. Ask them whether they have any family stories about the gent having a child by someone and whether the mothers name was mentioned? Ask them what they think about the whole matter.

Are these recent events? Was the child adopted out or was it brought up by the family or by the woman alone. If the child was given up for adoption, were there official adoption proceedings. Or was this prior to when such things were necessary?

If the child was kept is it likely there would have been a claim against the father for maintenance of the mother or the child. I suppose such a thing could be possible even if the fathers name wasn’t on the birth certificate. Were the family so well enough off that they didn’t need extra support. If she knew he was the father did she approach him for support or take legal action for support and if not, how did she support herself during her pregnancy, and afterwards.

If what you have in mind isn’t part of a clear-cut legal and bureaucratic process then you’re probably going to need expert legal advice. Before that is done you maybe could approach the authority whose records you propose should be changed and see what they have to say. I suspect that if such a thing is conceivable, that you’re going to have to delve into this very deeply.

You probably should take all of the above as just as a jumble of random thoughts as I’m not qualified to give advice on such matters. I hope there’s something useful there.

All the best,
Alan

[LesleyB]

With regard to proving paternity without the father being around to take part in the test, unfortunately, it is not as straightforward as some web sites would have you believe. It is not possible to prove one way or another; all that can be ascertained in current times ( I am sure this will improve in the future...) is if there is a liklihood of being related. This is expressed as a percentage. However, it cannot, for instance prove if one man or one of his brothers was the father. If the child is male, I think the results may be a little more meaningful, but I've not looked into the male aspect in any depth.
See also : http://www.cellmark.co.uk/dna_testing/s ... esting.php

Comparing DNA profiles can provide a strong indication of a sibling relationship. However, it will not always reveal the true nature of the relationship because of the patterns of DNA inheritance. It is possible, for example, for two individuals to have the same parents and only share a small number of their DNA markers. A sibling test can therefore only conclude which is the most likely relationship given the DNA evidence.

However, if the father is alive to take the DNA test it is a very straightforward yes/no situation.

Alan's suggestiuon re. the photos is possibly the best way to go initially - gather as many as you can of the family, not just the alleged father as folk often do not directly or obviously resemble their mother or father...sometimes the likeness(es) comes from elsewhere in the family and can shift in the one person at different ages and stages in life. Besides which, to do a DNA test properly, with two siblings, and two mothers whose DNA can be "subtracted" from the test, costs around £750 and in addition there will be fees payable to local GPs to take the swabs (they not do this on the National Health) of around £50 per person, so the total is likely to be around £1000.... and that assumes you have willing participants.

Best wishes
Lesley

[StewL]

Hello all
I agree with the photo aspect, I recently was given a photo of my father and his sisters, when he was quite young, it is remarkable the resemblance between myself at a slightly earlier age and him.