Parent-child assessments carried out by law firms.

When a paternity test is carried out by a law firm, arrangements are usually made for a legally valid DNA test to be carried out for the purpose of securing legal proceedings and evidence. The law firm itself does not carry out the testing, but works with a reputable external accredited DNA testing organization to carry out the testing procedure. The following describes the general procedure for paternity testing through a law firm.

1. Identification of the need for appraisal

First, consult a lawyer at a law firm to ascertain whether a paternity test is necessary and what its legal purpose is.A paternity test is mainly required in the following cases

Recognition issues: where it is necessary to ascertain whether the father or mother is recognized as the legal parent of the child.
Child support and inheritance issues: where the confirmation of the parent-child relationship determines the obligation to pay child support and the right to inheritance.
Immigration and visa applications: to facilitate the immigration and visa application process by proving parent-child relationship.

2. Selection of the appraisal body and contracting procedures

The law firm works with a reputable and accredited DNA testing institute. In order for a paternity test to have legal validity, the testing institute must be registered as a sanitary laboratory and carry out tests in accordance with legally recognized standards.

Selection of an expert witness: the lawyer selects an approved DNA expert witness to obtain legally valid results. This is a reliable institute that is accepted as evidence by courts and public authorities.
Contractual procedure: the law firm enters into a contract with the expert opinion institute together with the client.At this time, the law firm confirms what specimens will be used (e.g. blood, saliva, oral cells), the costs and the time frame for obtaining the results.

3. Specimen collection

DNA samples used for paternity testing are usually collected by one of the following methods

Collection at a hospital or clinic: blood samples or oral cell samples are taken at a medical institution or clinic with which the appraiser is affiliated. The collection procedure is strictly controlled to ensure that the evidence is legally admissible.
Collection at the law firm: in some cases, DNA samples (usually saliva or oral cells) are collected in a simple manner under the supervision of a law firm. In this case, a lawyer or law firm representative will be present to ensure that the specimens are handled appropriately.
Control of specimens: for specimens to be used as legal evidence, it is important that all processes of collection, storage and transport of specimens are strictly controlled and that no third parties are involved in any unauthorized way. Once collected, the specimens are sent securely to the expert witness institute.

4. conduct DNA testing

A paternity test is carried out at the selected DNA testing institute.In general, the process proceeds as follows.

DNA extraction and analysis: DNA is extracted from specimens collected at the laboratory and analyzed to confirm the parent-child relationship. Specifically, the DNA sequences of the parent and child are compared to confirm a genetic match.
Determination of results: the result of a DNA test is a determination of the probability of a parent-child relationship (usually a match of 99% or more).If no parent-child relationship exists, the results are also shown with a very high degree of accuracy.

5. Receipt of appraisal results and legal proceedings

Once the appraisal results are available, the law firm is notified and a report of the results is provided to the client.The report contains the detailed results of the appraisal and its reliability.

Legal validity: the results of an expert opinion are used in legal proceedings through a lawyer. They are often submitted as legal evidence in court or in recognition proceedings. The results are more likely to be accepted as evidence because they are from a reputable expert witness.
Legal action based on the results: if the test results confirm the parent-child relationship, the law firm will proceed with the necessary legal procedures based on the results, such as recognition, child support claims and confirmation of inheritance rights.

6. Use in court

The results of paternity appraisals may be submitted to the court.If a law firm is supporting the case, the results of the appraisal may be submitted to the court as evidence and its evidential value may be challenged.The involvement of a law firm ensures that the appraisal results are legally valid and can be used in court.

7. The cost of the appraisal

The cost of a paternity test will vary depending on the test centre used and the nature of the test, but the following costs may be incurred if the request is made through a law firm.

Appraisal costs: the direct costs of DNA testing carried out by a laboratory.This includes specimen collection, analysis and reporting of results.
Law firm fees: additional fees may be charged for the support of a lawyer, preparation of the appraisal results for use in legal proceedings, documentation, etc.
Total cost: typically from several tens of thousands to several hundred thousand yen in total, but may vary from case to case.

8. Legal validity and reliability

Paternity appraisals conducted through a law firm are highly reliable as legally valid evidence because they are carried out by a reputable appraiser.If you wish to have an expert opinion for use in a court case or official proceedings, it is recommended that you request it through a law firm.

Summary

Paternity testing at law firms is carried out with the main purpose of using the results in legal proceedings and as evidence, and is carried out in partnership with a reputable DNA testing organisation.The law firm supports the procedure and ensures that the results of the test are rigorously followed to ensure that they can be used as legally valid evidence.

If there is a need for an appraisal, it is important to consult with a lawyer to confirm the purpose, costs and procedures of the appraisal and to obtain reliable results. The support of a law firm can also help to ensure that legal procedures based on the results proceed smoothly.