Am I the Dad? As DNA paternity testing becomes more common and convenient, men are now empowered to know if they are the physical father of the child. This is important information for child custody, child support, as well as medical and health issues affected by gentics. A commonly accepted figure is that about 5% to 15% are not in fact the Dad, although this can vary widely. Indeed the Wall Street Journal reports that in one British town, a whopping 30% of Dads were found not to be the physical father.
Another issue for men to be aware of is that even though they may not be the physical Dad, they can be the legal Dad if they sign papers or birth ceritificates to that effect. Whoever the physical father is, it's always best to keep uppermost in you mind the interests of the child, which can get lost too easily in discussions over custody, vistation and child support.
