Indiana Affidavit of Paternity

The new Indiana Affidavit of Paternity has two sections. The first section deals with putting the father on the birth certificate, the second deals with joint custody of the child. The first section puts the person named as father on the certified birth certificate. It does not give the father any rights as far as the child. It does place financial responsibility on the father, including payment of child support and provisions for health insurance coverage. The first section does not require any type of DNA testing, it requires only the mother and father to sign and notarize the document. Note you have 60 days to rescind the document of you change your mind or if you find out the person named as father is in fact not the father. After 60 days it will require a DNA test and a court order to remove the father's name from the birth certificate. It is also notable that the person named as father on the affidavit has the right to request a DNA paternity test within 60 days of the birth and if necessary may ask the court who has jurisdiction for an order for the test. The law also states that a mother who knowingly falsely names a man as the biological father of a child under this section commits a Class A misdemeanor.

The second section deals with joint custody. It allows the mother and father to share joint legal custody of the child and have equal access to school and medical records. Joint legal custody means the persons sharing the custody share authority and responsibility for major decisions concerning the child's upbringing, including education, health care and religious training. Note the law states that the mother and the man who reasonably appears to be the child's father must be allowed to review the affidavit alone and without the presence of the other and if ether are under the age of 18 they have the right to consult an adult chosen by the individual. This section requires a DNA Paternity Test from an accredited laboratory be submitted to the health department within 60 days of the birth of the child.

I live in Kentucky, the court says I must do a DNA Paternity Test. Do I have to use the test through the state?

No, you may use a private test from a AABB accredited lab. I general this can save you several hundred dollars and get your results back in 3 business days rather than 45 days with the state test.

Indiana residents, here is another tip. If you are an alleged father and have been told you have to submit to a DNA test for Child Support, by law you have the option to do a private test rather than the state test. Call us at AccuGen DNA Service and save sometimes hundreds of dollars by using our Legally Admissible DNA Paternity Test and receive your results in a much faster time frame. Call us at 502-895-3628 and set up an appointment. We serve the southern Indiana areas of Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott and Jefferson counties. You can check us out on the web at www.accugendna.com .

New Indiana Law takes affect on July 1, 2010

Indiana residents, did you know that a new law goes into effect on July 1, 2010. Unmarried fathers may need a DNA test to show paternity before signing the Affidavit of Paternity. AccuGen DNA Service is available and ready to help. We will come to the hospital on new born babies at no extra charge and collect your samples and have your answer in 3 business days with RUSH options available for even faster turnaround. Give us a call at 502-895-3628 and we will come to you the same day, and at the most affordable price in the area. Check us out on the web at www.accugendna.com or email us at louisville@accugendna.com .

Can a home test be admissible in court?

For a test to be admissible in court the collection process and handling of the samples through testing must observe Chain of Custody and samples must be collected by a dis-interested 3rd party. This means your friend, relative or neighbor cannot do the collection or be a so called witness. Some unscrupulous companies claim that you may use their home test in court if you have a neighbor or friend witness the collection. Beware this sales pitch. If you need a test for court have it done by a reputable company using an AABB accredited lab.

Check is out on the web at www.accugendna.com .

My parents and grandparents are not available, what can I do?

You want to know if an individual is your father and neither your mother, alleged father or grandparents are available. What can you do to find if this individual is your father? If you are male and there is a male relative available that you know is truly a male relative of the alleged father such as a brother or male cousin you can do a Y-Chromosome test. If you are male, with each generation you carry the same Y-Chromosome as your father. This means male descendants of two brothers carry the same Y-Chromosome. While this cannot directly prove paternity it can prove that the tested males are of the same paternal line.

If you are female your options are limited to a siblingship study provided that you have a sibling that you know for sure is the son or daughter of the alleged father. In this case you can test to see if you are full or half siblings or not related. It is very helpful in these cases if the mother is available. If as I mentioned above she is not available or different mothers are involved we can test only the siblings. In this case you will get a report of the probability of the relationship. The more siblings that are tested the higher the probability. Two full siblings will only share half of their DNA since they received half from each parent and that half will change with each child. (Except for identical twins.) http://www.accugendna.com/services.html

Does the mother have to be tested?

I get this question every day. No, the mother does not have to be tested in order to determine paternity. There are however, some cases where testing the mother is helpful in the determination. Since the mother contributes half of her DNA to the child the remaining DNA must come from the father. It is helpful to know the mothers contribution when we are testing with grandparents because the alleged father is not available for testing or there are multiple alleged fathers and they are related. http://www.accugendna.com/dnafaq.html