It was a little more than a year ago that we about the importance of a DNA paternity test to determine who the father of a then-newborn was. The mother was claiming that father was famed pop star Justin Bieber, a claim the 18-year-old adamantly denied. After the scandal broke, Bieber also took to the talk show “The View” to insist he had taken a DNA paternity test to prove he was not the father.
Since then, while most of the heat and gossip around the scandal has cooled off, the claim is the results from the DNA paternity test have yet to be presented. This means the father of the 15-month-old boy, Tristyn, is yet to be determined.
Initially, the mother was seeking to prove that not only was the pop star the father, but was also seeking a substantial amount in child support. However, the lawsuit was withdrawn a couple of weeks after it was filed with the hopes that the case would be settled outside of court.
For the average Missouri resident, this case highlights the true importance of not only establishing paternity after a child is born, but also for an attorney to be involved to make sure the integrity of the DNA paternity test stands up.
Quite often the focus of paternity tests is around establishing parental rights as a father. However, as this case goes to show, establishing someone is not the father can also be necessary, especially in cases where a mother is claiming a man is the father in the hopes of receiving child support.
Source: New York Daily News, “Justin Bieber paternity case heats up: Lawyer for alleged baby mama still hasn’t received singer’s DNA test results,” Nov. 28, 2012
