Can a Father Get DNA Testing Without the Mother's Consent

My question involves paternity law for the State of: Vermont

I have a 4 month old daughter. Her father wasn't present at birth, Is not on her birth certificate, and signed nothing claiming paternity. I am her sole legal guardian.

My question is, does he need to have my permission to have a DNA test done? Obviously if the court orders it I know he doesn't. But if he did an at home DNA test without my consent, could I have it thrown out if he takes me to court? Also if I caught him trying to do it would I be able to stop him?

Thank you!!

his home DNA test is not going to mean anything in court. There are stringent rules on performing a DNA test so it is acceptable by the courts , the test will mean nothing. If the test was done such that it would be acceptable in court, the court can accept it. Even if they won't accept it, it is simple to file a paternity suit and ask the court to mandate a test.

Not sure what the point is here as in the end, a test will be performed if the presumed father wants a test to be done.

If he has not established paternity and you don't want your kid tested, keep the child away from him.

As JK says, DNA testing requires particular rigor to be valid in court, but if he gets a buccal swab or whatever from the kid, he can certainly get it tested and doesn't need your permission.

If he's going to try to establish paternity, you can expect a court ordered test anyhow.

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Quoting bmstone92

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My question is, does he need to have my permission to have a DNA test done? Obviously if the court orders it I know he doesn't. But if he did an at home DNA test without my consent, could I have it thrown out if he takes me to court? Also if I caught him trying to do it would I be able to stop him?

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What is your concern, here? You have told us that he's the father. If he does a DNA test and finds out he's the father, then that's simply confirming what you have told him. If he does a DNA test and finds out he's not the father, there would be no need to "have it thrown out if he takes me to court" as he wouldn't file a paternity case while submitting to the court a DNA test saying he's not the father.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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What is your concern, here?

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I'm willing to bet he's paying her to 'help out with the baby' and she doesn't want to risk losing that money if he finds out its not his.

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Quoting FathersFirst

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I'm willing to bet he's paying her to 'help out with the baby' and she doesn't want to risk losing that money if he finds out its not his.

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Hello, SuperPop.

Back so soon?

He's already told us that the only way to stop him is to block his IP.

Uhm excuse you. I haven't gotten a dime from him for our child since the day she was born. Nor have I asked. I don't want or need his money. He wants a DNA test so he can be put on the birth certificate. The point of this post was to find out if it's legal for him to do it without my permission. I'm very well aware that all he has to do is get a court order. But again that was not my question. I'm also aware that the DNA test will probably happen regardless, I just don't want it to be done slyly behind my back.

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Quoting bmstone92

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Uhm excuse you. I haven't gotten a dime from him for our child since the day she was born. Nor have I asked. I don't want or need his money. He wants a DNA test so he can be put on the birth certificate. The point of this post was to find out if it's legal for him to do it without my permission. I'm very well aware that all he has to do is get a court order. But again that was not my question. I'm also aware that the DNA test will probably happen regardless, I just don't want it to be done slyly behind my back.

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Even if he does do it slyly, behind your back it won't give him any rights at all. Only a court ordered paternity test can do that, as you have already been told.

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Quoting bmstone92

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The point of this post was to find out if it's legal for him to do it without my permission.

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Yes, it is legal for him to do it without your permission. That's was a pretty simple answer.

Actually since he is not the legal father, it is not legal for him to come near the child without the mothers permission. Accosting a child that is not yours is generally frowned upon by the law. Now, if the mother allows the putative father to have contact with the child, I doubt anybody is going to get concerned with him taking a swab of DNA to be tested.

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Quoting jk

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Actually since he is not the legal father, it is not legal for him to come near the child without the mothers permission. Accosting a child that is not yours is generally frowned upon by the law. Now, if the mother allows the putative father to have contact with the child, I doubt anybody is going to get concerned with him taking a swab of DNA to be tested.

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The question is answered by the courts, all he has to do is ask for a DNA test. She can refuse permission until she is blue in the face, but the courts will let him get it. It's not ever a difficult thing, he doesn't need a lawyer, he just needs to be literate.

This is a legal forum, the legal answer is legally, the putative father(who mom admits is the biological father, so lets drop the pretense) can get a DNA test done without mom's permission. He doesn't need her permission at all, just a judges and that is an almost 100% yes.

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Quoting FathersFirst

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The question is answered by the courts, all he has to do is ask for a DNA test. She can refuse permission until she is blue in the face, but the courts will let him get it. It's not ever a difficult thing, he doesn't need a lawyer, he just needs to be literate.

This is a legal forum, the legal answer is legally, the putative father(who mom admits is the biological father, so lets drop the pretense) can get a DNA test done without mom's permission. He doesn't need her permission at all, just a judges and that is an almost 100% yes.

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That is all good and well, but that was not her question. Her question was could he do a DNA test without going through the courts. The answer to that is NO. Therefore you gave her a legally inaccurate answer to her question.

If the guy has it performed under a court order all is well but the father is not going to be the one taking the sample and the mother will be fully aware of the test. The only way it could be done without the mothers knowledge would be if the father took a sample from the chid and as I said, he cannot legally touch the child without the mothers permission

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Quoting FathersFirst

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Yes, it is legal for him to do it without your permission. That's was a pretty simple answer.

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Well if that's the case then I should be able to go and get a DNA test of any random child correct. I mean he has no rights to her and it's legal. So it's legal for me to do it to a child I have no rights to. Good to know.

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Quoting bmstone92

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Well if that's the case then I should be able to go and get a DNA test of any random child correct. I mean he has no rights to her and it's legal. So it's legal for me to do it to a child I have no rights to. Good to know.

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Lol, well, if you don't know when you give birth to a child......But, if you were male, Yes, if there is a reasonable belief that you are the father, you can, if the mother refuses, just go to court, and they'll tell her she has to comply, it's really that simple. You really can't deny him. You can try, but its a useless effort.

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Quoting FathersFirst

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Lol, well, if you don't know when you give birth to a child......But, if you were male, Yes, if there is a reasonable belief that you are the father, you can, if the mother refuses, just go to court, and they'll tell her she has to comply, it's really that simple. You really can't deny him. You can try, but its a useless effort.

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You are so wrong. No, a man that has no legal proof he is the father cannot simply accost a child and take a sample of DNA no matter what he believe. There are laws against doing things like that. The only legal recourse the man has if the mother will not willingly subject the child to a DNA test is to file a paternity suit in the courts

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Quoting jk

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legal recourse the man has if the mother will not willingly subject the child to a DNA test is to file a paternity suit in the courts

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That's what i said JK, i went out for a smoke and realized i wasn't clear, i was planning on editing, but you posted too quickly....

You can DELAY his getting a DNA test, but you can not DENY it. If you try to deny it, all he has to do is fill out a simple sheet of paper with the courts and have a judge tell you otherwise. Really, by attempting to deny it now, you are just wasting time and money that you will have to use when he does file with the courts and they'll immediately overturn your denial anyway. Plus, i'm SURE that if he has to go through the courts to determine paternity he will be MUCH more likely to continue and file for visitation. You are digging a hole by attempting to deny his DNA testing. Once Visitation is granted, you won't be able to Deny that either.

So, what is the point of attempting to deny OP? What is your goal here?

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Quoting FathersFirst

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That's what i said JK, i went out for a smoke and realized i wasn't clear, i was planning on editing, but you posted too quickly....

You can DELAY his getting a DNA test, but you can not DENY it. If you try to deny it, all he has to do is fill out a simple sheet of paper with the courts and have a judge tell you otherwise. Really, by attempting to deny it now, you are just wasting time and money that you will have to use when he does file with the courts and they'll immediately overturn your denial anyway. Plus, i'm SURE that if he has to go through the courts to determine paternity he will be MUCH more likely to continue and file for visitation. You are digging a hole by attempting to deny his DNA testing. Once Visitation is granted, you won't be able to Deny that either.

So, what is the point of attempting to deny OP? What is your goal here?

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You are still not understanding the question that was asked, or you are being obtuse on purpose.

Until such time as a paternity case is filed in court and court orders are made, the mother is legally within the rights to deny a DNA test to the putative father. A court will not "overturn" her denial, a court will order a paternity test as legal procedure.

There are many reasons why putative fathers attempt to do private DNA tests instead of filing to establish paternity...most of them involve some reason for NOT wanting to go to court.

Her motives are completely irrelevant.

It's her RIGHT, as the ONLY parent here, to refuse any and all contact right up until a court says otherwise.

End of story.

And frankly, if some idiot decided to run a DNA test without my consent (or the court's consent), I'd be doing my hardest to have him charged with battery.

Strangers don't get to "play" with kids. In fact, wasn't it here that a few years ago an alleged father pulled this stunt - and involved a daycare employee in the process - and ended up facing charges?

Maybe we are looking at the word deny differently? When i pull up to a stop sign(you stop and then go at a stop sign), i am not Denied going forward, i am temporarily delayed. In this case the mother can put up as many stop signs as she wants, but as soon as dad goes to court, the judge will knock them down FAST and the father will be able to get the DNA test.

So as i said above, Yes, mom can DELAY dad getting a DNA test, but she can NOT deny him, the courts will make sure of that. There are two choices for the OP, give dad consent to get a DNA test and don't worry about court, or attempt to deny him and have the judge give him consent.

Either way, it's going to happen, there is no way for her to deny, only delay. He doesn't need her consent.

Would you at least make an effort to pretend that you're capable of reading?

Thanks evahsomuch.

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Quoting FathersFirst

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Maybe we are looking at the word deny differently? When i pull up to a stop sign(you stop and then go at a stop sign), i am not Denied going forward, i am temporarily delayed. In this case the mother can put up as many stop signs as she wants, but as soon as dad goes to court, the judge will knock them down FAST and the father will be able to get the DNA test.

So as i said above, Yes, mom can DELAY dad getting a DNA test, but she can NOT deny him, the courts will make sure of that. There are two choices for the OP, give dad consent to get a DNA test and don't worry about court, or attempt to deny him and have the judge give him consent, either way, it's going to happen, there is no way for her to deny, only delay.

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There would never be any reason for mom to agree to allow him to get a private DNA test. They virtually always not admissible in court or usable in any legal way, therefore they are a waste of time. I suppose if there was a dad out there who wanted to know, before taking the time and effort to go to court that might be a reason why he would want to do that...but it still would be useless to him legally.

However, the reason most dads want to do it privately is that because, for one reason or another, they do NOT want to go to court.

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Quoting llworking

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There would never be any reason for mom to agree to allow him to get a private DNA test. They virtually always not admissible in court or usable in any legal way, therefore they are a waste of time. I suppose if there was a dad out there who wanted to know, before taking the time and effort to go to court that might be a reason why he would want to do that...but it still would be useless to him legally.

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I know this is a legal forum, but there are HUNDREDS of reasons a father would want to know that don't involve the courts. The major one is to know if he has a child.

Mom will be ordered to get a DNA test anyway, she doesn't have the choice to deny it. The only choice she has is if she wants to spend the time, effort and money to go to court or if she'd rather just stop delaying dad and let him get it done privately. They can always go to court later if they want and "Make it official"

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Quoting FathersFirst

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I know this is a legal forum, but there are HUNDREDS of reasons a father would want to know that don't involve the courts.

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Nah. The reasons boil down to a variation of:

1. I wanna check because my Mom/grandma/new baby mama doesn't think I'm the real daddy and so we should get child support stopped

2. I wanna find out so I can plan my next relocation in case the court wants me to pay child support

3. He doesn't look like me - I wanna find out before I embarrass myself in court

For any legitimate purpose, the father would be foolish NOT to involve the court.

You should be ashamed to show that kind of ignorance. I refuse to even quote it, i hope you have the common sense and decency to delete that post, before the moderator sees it and throws you off this forum!!! Misandry is not acceptable ANY hate speech for that matter is NOT acceptable!

Atleast it was easy to identify the Bitter Angry mom as soon as i signed up here! You are NOW on my ignore list!

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Quoting FathersFirst

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You should be ashamed to show that kind of ignorance. I refuse to even quote it, i hope you have the common sense and decency to delete that post, before the moderator sees it and throws you off this forum!!! Misandry is not acceptable ANY hate speech for that matter is NOT acceptable!

Atleast it was easy to identify the Bitter Angry mom as soon as i signed up here! You are NOW on my ignore list!

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That's the funniest post I've seen all day!

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Quoting FathersFirst

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You should be ashamed to show that kind of ignorance. I refuse to even quote it, i hope you have the common sense and decency to delete that post, before the moderator sees it and throws you off this forum!!! Misandry is not acceptable ANY hate speech for that matter is NOT acceptable!

Atleast it was easy to identify the Bitter Angry mom as soon as i signed up here! You are NOW on my ignore list!

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I think that we should all put you on the ignore list...except that sometimes you are just too funny.

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Quoting llworking

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I think that we should all put you on the ignore list...except that sometimes you are just too funny.

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I would NEVER make a comment as prejudice and offensive as that one! To denigrate an entire group of people like that based on nothing but her own bias and ignorance! Hate speech like that should NOT be tolerated.

I just spent sometime reading over her previous threads, i can understand what happened with her ex-husband, when you are being attacked and belittled constantly by someone who hates you just because of your sex, i would have lashed out too. She deserved it!

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Quoting FathersFirst

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I would NEVER make a comment as prejudice and offensive as that one! To denigrate an entire group of people like that based on nothing but her own bias and ignorance! Hate speech like that should NOT be tolerated.

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^^^ priceless.

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Quoting FathersFirst

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You should be ashamed to show that kind of ignorance. I refuse to even quote it, i hope you have the common sense and decency to delete that post, before the moderator sees it and throws you off this forum!!! Misandry is not acceptable ANY hate speech for that matter is NOT acceptable!

Atleast it was easy to identify the Bitter Angry mom as soon as i signed up here! You are NOW on my ignore list!

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Wait. I thought YOU were already thrown off this forum. And the FA one. And the DD one... (several times in most cases)

Huh.

- - - Updated - - -

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Quoting FathersFirst

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I would NEVER make a comment as prejudice and offensive as that one! To denigrate an entire group of people like that based on nothing but her own bias and ignorance! Hate speech like that should NOT be tolerated.

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And yet you tell me that the other forum you participate in, that calls ex-wives/girlfriends nut jobs as a matter of course, is just the guys' way of blowing off steam. Because they are frustrated.

Hmmmm....

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Quoting FathersFirst

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I would NEVER make a comment as prejudice and offensive as that one! To denigrate an entire group of people like that based on nothing but her own bias and ignorance! Hate speech like that should NOT be tolerated.

I just spent sometime reading over her previous threads, i can understand what happened with her ex-husband, when you are being attacked and belittled constantly by someone who hates you just because of your sex, i would have lashed out too. She deserved it!

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Oh I missed this priceless little edit.

I can't wait to find out what happened with my ex and why I deserved..well..whatever it was.

Anyone have a clue what he's blabbering about?

No clue. He's accusing you of "hate speech", Doggie dear.

I got the Sledgehammer out AND the red pen for the profile.