When a child is born to parents who are not married or who have never been married to one another, this can pose a few problems. In the state of Illinois, a man is only presumed to be the father of a child if he and the mother were married when the child was born, or if they were married within a 300-day period before the child’s birth. If neither of those situations is true, then the parents must go about other ways to establish the paternity of the child. In many cases, before a court will enter an Order of Paternity, they will require that the mother, the alleged father, and the child submit to genetic testing to determine the true biological father of the child.

Genetic Testing Procedure

The organization conducting the genetic testing will be chosen by the court, but a petitioner is also permitted to conduct independent genetic testing if they so choose. A child gets half of their genes from their mother and half of their genes from their father. DNA testing works by comparing the genes of the child with the genes from both parents. The Illinois Paternity Act states that DNA samples can be from blood, bone, hair, or other bodily fluids, though the most common way to gather DNA samples is from a simple swab of the cheek.