Can A Wife Force Another Woman To Undergo A Paternity DNA Test?
t A. Glieberman author of more than 30 articles,chapters & books on family law has practiced divorce law exclusively since 1954.Addressing issues of pre & postnuptial agreements,divorce, alimony,child custody & support,visitation and paternity cases
Can a wife force another woman to undergo a paternity DNA test to determine ff her husband is the father?
Marital infidelity is a painful experience, sometimes made even worse if the "other woman" falls pregnant. This scenario brings up the legal issue of whether the wife could receive a court order for a paternity test to determine if the husband was, in fact, the father of the child in utero. The answer to this question is important, mainly for child support purposes and inheritance reasons, but also to put nagging questions to rest.
In addition, in some circumstances the wife may not want her husband to spend his financial resources on his girlfriend and the child, and proving the child was sired by someone else, would stop this form happening.
Equally important is the question of inheritance rights. If a wife wants to determine whether her children are the sole heirs of not only her estate but her husband's estate, it would certainly be important for her to know whether the child the girlfriend is carrying in fact is the child of her husband.
There may be other reasons, both practical and legal, why a wife may want to have proof positive that a child being carried by her husband's girlfriend is either his child or not.
Setting Minds at Ease
If the wife files a divorce action, names the girlfriend as a party defendant, it is possible--though unlikely--that a court may direct a DNA test given to all parties. However, that DNA test would have to wait until the birth of the girlfriend's child.
On the other hand, if the wife and the husband are considering a reconciliation but nevertheless want to dispose of the doubt in both of their minds, the husband could file a paternity action against his girlfriend, requesting that a DNA test be performed on the child when it's born, as well as on him and the girlfriend. It's unlikely that a man would want to do this, as he exposes himself to all kinds of potential legal responsibilities. However, he may do so under the circumstances, if he is relatively sure that the child is not his and in order to give his wife, with whom he is attempting to reconcile, the peace of mind and security she would be entitled to.
It must be borne in mind, however, that the facts of each case will determine what a court may or may not do, as this issue is not a clear-cut legal one with a lot of precedent attached to it
Herbert A. Glieberman is a family lawyer in Chicago, IL, and a member of the USLaw.com Affiliate Network. He can be reached at 19 South LaSalle Street, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60603-1402, email: hglieber@aol.com
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