Difference between revisions of "Parents"
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===Natural reproduction=== | ===Natural reproduction=== | ||
Under section 26(1) of the ''Family Law Act'', a child's parents are presumed to be the child's ''birth mother'' and ''biological father''. It's normally pretty easy to tell who the birth mother of a child is. It's not always so easy to tell | Under section 26(1) of the ''Family Law Act'', a child's parents are presumed to be the child's ''birth mother'' and ''biological father''. It's normally pretty easy to tell who the birth mother of a child is. It's not always so easy to tell if a man is the biological father of a child. | ||
Only biological parents and people who are stepparents because they are the married or unmarried spouse of a parent are required to pay child support. When a man denies a responsibility to pay child support on the ground that he is not the child's father, the first thing the court will do is see whether he should be presumed to be the father because of the nature of his relationship with the child's mother. | |||
These | ====The presumptions of paternity==== | ||
Under section 26(2) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', a man is presumed to be the biological father of a child in one of the following circumstances: | |||
<blockquote><tt>(a) he was married to the child's birth mother on the day of the child's birth;</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><tt>(b) he was married to the child's birth mother and, within 300 days before the child's birth, the marriage was ended</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(i) by his death,</tt></blockquote></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(ii) by a judgment of divorce, or</tt></blockquote></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(iii) as referred to in section 21;</tt></blockquote></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><tt>(c) he married the child's birth mother after the child's birth and acknowledges that he is the father;</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><tt>(d) he was living with the child's birth mother in a marriage-like relationship within 300 days before, or on the day of, the child's birth;</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><tt>(e) he, along with the child's birth mother, has acknowledged that he is the child's father by having signed a statement under section 3 of the Vital Statistics Act</tt></blockquote> | |||
Presumptions like these were once very important when there was no reliable way to scientifically verify that a particular man was the father of a child. These days, however, we do have the technology and a man who disputes paternity despite these presumptions can ask for an order that a paternity test be conducted. | |||
====Paternity tests==== | |||
Under section 33(2) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', the court may | |||
<blockquote><tt>order a person, including a child, to have a tissue sample or blood sample, or both, taken by a medical practitioner or other qualified person for the purpose of conducting parentage tests.</tt></blockquote> | |||
Under section 33(1), a "parentage test" can be a human leukocyte antigen test, a DNA test, or "any other test the court considers appropriate." These are your choices: | |||
*'''Human leukocyte antigen tests:''' Human leukocyte antigen tests are a kind of advanced blood test that looks at the genetic markers on white blood cells to determine the likelihood that the child's antigens were inherited from a particular man. Their accuracy is northward of 96% but can be spoofed if the purported father has had a recent transfusion. | |||
*'''Deoxyribonucleic acid tests:''' DNA tests look for overlaps in the child's unique genetic code with the genetic code from the purported father and the child's mother. Today's DNA tests deal with the probability of fatherhood in terms approaching absolute certainty; if a DNA test shows a man is probably the father, the odds that the test is wrong are about 0.0001%. Testing is performed on biological samples, most commonly from mouth swabs, which are painless to obtain. | |||
*'''Chorionic villi sampling:''' This is a prenatal procedure that can be performed during the 10th to 13th week of pregnancy. It consists of a DNA test on a sample of the baby's placenta. It is an unpleasant procedure that must be conducted either through the mother's cervix or her abdominal wall. | |||
*'''Amniocentesis:''' This is a prenatal procedure that can be performed during the 14th to 24th week of pregnancy. It consists of a DNA test on a sample of amniotic fluid drawn through the mother's abdominal wall. | |||
The DNA of a child is a combination of the DNA of the child's mother and father. DNA tests compare the child's DNA to that of the father and mother, and provide a calculation of the odds that the man is the child's father. Because of the accuracy of DNA testing, a positive result will prove extremely convincing to a court. Unless you have a doctorate in genetics or convincing proof that a sample was tampered with, I don't recommend that you challenge the results of a DNA test. Save your money. | |||
A number of companies serving British Columbia, such as [http://www.genetrackcanada.com Genetrack Biolabs], [https://www.thednalab.com The DNALAB], and [http://www.pro-adn.com Orchid PRO-DNA], will perform legally admissible paternity tests at a cost of around $480 to $500, plus taxes, for one child and an alleged father, with additional costs for more children or alleged fathers. For tests usable in a legal proceeding, the labs will require each person contributing samples to attend in person at an authorized sample collection location. | |||
===Arranging for a paternity test=== | |||
If the birth mother and the person might be the father agree to have a paternity test conducted, no court order is necessary. You simply <span class="noglossary">contact</span> the appropriate company and arrange to have blood or saliva samples taken and tested. The DNA tests are done with a mouth swab, generally, and legal paternity tests can be done with just samples from the child and the potential father. The results will be delivered to you directly. Some companies even offer home sampling kits that provide legally admissible test results, provided that the test is properly witnessed by someone else. Generally, however, legal paternity tests are conducted in an authorized collection centre where the identities of the sample providers and the integrity of the samples can be confirmed. | |||
Where the parties don't agree to a test, one of them, usually the potential father, must apply to court for an order that samples be taken from the parties and the child and that a paternity test be conducted under section 33(2) of the ''Family Law Act''. Under section 33(3), the court can also make an order about who must pay for the cost of the test. | |||
===Assisted reproduction=== | ===Assisted reproduction=== | ||
