As much as we hate to say it, legal disputes about parenthood are becoming more and more common. No child deserves to go through this and we sincerely hope that you realise this too. That is why we want to give you a helping hand. We are going to help you a little by telling you what you can do in such a case. We want to achieve the best result for the child, but that does not mean that this is the best result for you. We will go through some of the steps you can take, but you should be aware that these steps can sometimes be a bit heavy. Think about everything: ‘Is this good for the baby, wouldn’t it be better to do it differently? If that is the case, you must stop immediately and find a different solution. The best solution is the one with the least impact on the child.

Test

First the tests. We will first look at tests you can do at home; DNA home test kits. You can take these tests yourself by putting a bit of saliva on a cotton bud. Of course, you first order the kit and then you can get to work. You also need a DNA sample from the child; this can be done when the child is not yet born and is therefore called a prenatal DNA test. Then the samples are sent to the lab. There they are analysed and then you receive the results. If the results show that there is a match, then you are the father/mother. If not, there is no biological parenthood. A home paternity test for example is not legally usable, you will need a legal test. The only difference is that it is administered by professionals so it cannot be tampered with.

Legal procedure

Still can’t figure it out together after the home test? Then it is advisable to take legal action. A legal test may have to be carried out, actions that may or may not imply recognition may have to be considered and so on. It is all possible to establish maintenance and parenthood and so on, but this step is very hard for the parents and the child. The child strongly feels that there are quarrels/disputes going on. So our advice is; avoid this step if you can.