header-logo header-logo

DNA—the true test of any relationship?

22 February 2013 / Neil Sullivan
Issue: 7549 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail

Neil Sullivan provides an update on recent developments in DNA testing

Over the last 15 years, the legal profession has taken to the use of DNA testing with alacrity. This is a fine example of the devolution of complex technology into our society—through testing for ancestry (the recent exhumation of Richard III is a good example), to testing for possible criminal activity (the use of DNA technology to identify and quantify horsemeat). But it is the application of DNA testing to the accurate determination of close biological relationships where the technology has found its greatest proponent. Television programmes such as Trisha, The Jeremy Kyle Show, and EastEnders have made DNA testing accessible and acceptable to the general public and many family law, inheritance, and social services cases have been resolved using DNA technology.

Procedure & practice

The majority of cases requiring a DNA test are those where we are trying to prove that a tested male is, or is not, the true biological father of a tested child.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll