DNA Paternity Testing Where the Parent is Deceased

The most common form of DNA testing, used to establish the biological relationship between two or more people, is the paternity test. This is generally employed to resolve disputed paternity, and usually involves a simple test employing a sample collected using an oral swab. However, in cases where the alleged father is deceased, this paternity test is more awkward, and the sampling procedures more complicated.

Alternative Testing Options to a Paternity Test

It might seem that once the alleged father has died, the truth of paternity will die with him. That is not in fact true, and there are ways establishing paternity, even if the alleged father is no longer with us. Naturally, the situation is more complex, but techniques such as DNA Relationship Testing are available, that can establish a relationship by determining the DNA profiles of close family members. A child's DNA can be compared to that of its alleged grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. In this way, it is possible to determine paternity indirectly without doing a direct paternity test.

Apart from that, direct DNA screening can still be carried out in certain circumstance, as exemplified in the three types of case below.

Case 1 – Recently Deceased - up to One Week

If the alleged father has died only recently, and a viable sample can still be taken, then it is possible for the client to get permission to take samples in the form of fingernail cuttings or hair samples (complete with root) - preferable both. It is possible to extract DNA from each of these for establishing paternity. To be viable for a paternity test, samples must preferably be taken no more than a week after death.

Case 2 – The Samples Available

If the deceased has been buried you might be able to gather indirect samples such as DNA from a toothbrush, a cigarette butt or an unwashed cup - just as you see in the movies, though it is not as easy to extract DNA from these samples as the movies would have you believe. Nevertheless, it can be done, but the technique is not guaranteed success. The amount of DNA obtained might not be enough to test to complete the paternity test, although the science produces just as much proof.

Case 3 – Exhumation for the DNA Samples

Where justified, the body can be exhumed in order to obtain a sample of DNA from the deceased for a paternity test. Where the body has been buried for a sufficient period of time for no soft tissue to be remaining, it is recommended to take a two gram bone sample from the humerus or the femoral shaft, or alternatively, two teeth.

Obviously, such a sample is normally made available only where there are pressing reasons for paternity to be legally established. Due to the difficulty in obtaining the sample for a paternity test, it is highly recommended to seek the advice of a forensic pathologist or other expert because the costs of such analyses are high, and you need advice as to the probability of success from your sample.