DNA testing is becoming of increasing importance in both civil and criminal legal circles. In the field of private law, it is often important to be able to determine family relationships for financial reasons, or to enforce a range of other obligations. Because of the effectiveness of DNA testing in determining where such relationships might arise, they are becoming far more widely used in determining family relationships as proof in both civil and criminal trials.

DNA Testing ? Uses in Inheritance Issues

In inheritance law, even where the deceased has left a will, it's often important to know what kind of family relationships exists. In most jurisdictions, children of the deceased are automatically entitled to a share of the moveable estate, thus this can often lead to disputes as to who is and is not a child of the testator. Using DNA samples from the testator and the alleged child or children, it's possible to confirm where such a relationship does in fact exist, allowing the courts a decree of clarification on the true circumstances of a particular case. From here, the legacies payable to each child can be finalised, thanks to the closure provided by the DNA test results.

DNA Testing ? Determining Alimony Liability

In family law, there is often an obligation to aliment children until they reach adulthood. Again, this can give rise to allegations of parentage or otherwise, which can require positive DNA testing to determine the true facts. Depending on the outcome, whether or not the subject is the father of the child in question will determine whether or not he may be pursued for alimentary payments, hence DNA testing plays an all-too important role in this form of legal decision making.

DNA Testing ? DNA Database and Criminal Identification

Even in justice and policing matters, maintaining DNA samples for identification purposes is becoming more prevalent across the world, with widespread DNA database construction well under way. The idea behind this form of using DNA evidence is to provide a better resource against which potential re-offenders can be identified. Ethics aside, this will no doubt prove an important tool in the fight against crime, and will certainly provide the authorities with more wide-ranging powers in pursuit of suspected criminals.

Likewise in criminal law circumstances, where a suspect has allegedly killed a victim. Analysis of traces of blood or head hairs can be used to determine without reasonable doubt that the accused was present at the scene or was involved in some regard with the victim's death. Alternatively, DNA found at the scene of a robbery could be enough to point towards a positive identification of the accused, along with supporting witness testimony to corroborate.

DNA Testing ? Immigration purposes

Immigration law relies heavily on DNA testing and DNA test results to prove or establish where family relationships may exist, which can then be used to determine the processing of immigration applications. Without DNA testing facilities, the process of establishing true family relationships in immigration would be much more detailed, more prone to possible errors and therefore less efficient. However, through a DNA paternity or relationship test, it is now possible to identify relatives and process the visa application within shorter time frames.

Thus DNA testing has become of relevance in a growing number of legal areas and, as the science continuous to develop, the use of DNA testing is expected to increase.