DNA Relationship testing is done to determine whether biological relationships exist between individuals. The DNA relationship test is similar to the paternity test but may be applied in a broader sense to test familial relationships to establish a number of possible relationships. Relationship tests can often involve several family members. Applications of this test normally include:

  • Determination of parentage or grand-parentage for insurance or inheritance rights claims
  • Confirmation of relationships between reunited brothers and sisters
  • Proving kinship to a citizen in order to substantiate claims for immigration status qualification
  • Confirming relationships when a biological parent is not available for testing in a paternity test

Genetic identification is also frequently employed by the legal profession to assist in resolving disputes about familial relationship without unnecessary Court proceedings.

Specific Relationship Tests

The following are types of DNA relationship  tests. These tests are used to confirm or exclude the biological relationship between alleged relatives. With these types of test, the closer the relationship the more likely an accurate result can be given.

Sibling Tests: When the issue of siblingship is in question, the recommended method to determine whether individuals are true biological siblings is to test their parents. However, in situations where the alleged parents are unavailable for testing, a DNA siblingship test can be performed to analyse the relationship of biological siblings. A siblings test will establish which parent or parents the siblings have in common and thus, whether they are full siblings, half siblings or unrelated.

Aunt or Uncle Testing (Avuncular Testing): Avuncular testing assesses whether an individual is the Aunt or Uncle of another person. This type of case if often used when the alleged parent of the person is deceased and a brother or sister of the alleged parent is still living. The test can be used as an alternative to a paternity test. If the test establishes that an uncle is biological related to his niece/nephew, then it is likely that the absent alleged father (the brother of the uncle) is the biological father of that niece/nephew.

Grandparentage Tests: In cases where the alleged father is not available for testing due to death or is not willing to participate, the alleged father’s parents can be tested to determine whether they are the true biological grandparents of the child. When conducting a relationship test to establish grandparentage it is recommended to test both grandparents (the grandmother and the grandfather) in order to obtain the most conclusive results. If this is not possible, a grandparentage test can be conducted by testing only one grandparent.

Relationship testing can get rather complex so it is always sensible to get all the necessary advice regarding the type of test you need, rather than buying the test you think may be the right one but may turn out to be the wrong choice.

Proceed here to find out about DNA testing with hair and other type of samples you can use for different DNA tests.