Paternity In Louisiana
Under Louisiana law the father of a child born out of wedlock is not responsible for that child until legal paternity has been established. Legal paternity can be established through court proceedings or by legal acknowledgment of the father on an affidavit. Louisiana law requires that hospital staff provide unwed parents the opportunity to sign this affidavit after their baby is born. If the father refuses to sign this affidavit the Support Enforcement Services or District Attorney can file a paternity suit in order to establish legal paternity.
Before a father signs a affidavit acknowledging legal paternity they can request that DNA testing be done. The cost of DNA testing is divided by the three parties at the cost of $210 each. The state of Louisiana has two labs they contract with for their DNA testing. The labs have to either exclude a person as the father or establish legal paternity at 99.9% probability. This is the highest probability possible. The court encourages a potential father to request DNA testing before he signs the paternity acknowledgment.
