There are numerous benefits to performing paternity tests. Knowing with scientific certainty who the biological father is brings peace of mind to the father, and may help the father and child have a deeper bond.

It may also dispel any doubts in the marriage or relationship about the fidelity of the partners, and can help grow their trust toward each other, essential for the functioning of a healthy family.

But its most important benefits are the legal ones. If a woman is married and gives birth to a child, the law considers the husband to be the biological father of the child by default.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and if there is another alleged father, the only way he can legally prove his paternity and get paternity rights (if the husband does not willingly sign a denial of paternity statement) in court is through a scientifically verified paternity test.
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This is very important from the perspective of both the man’s and the child’s right to know who the real biological father is, and it can foil child identity fraud (also known as paternity fraud; see the Paternity Fraud tab).

These benefits easily offset the cost of most paternity tests. While the cost of a paternity test varies by provider, it is usually not more than a couple of thousand dollars, and often in the hundreds–not much, especially if a legal issue is at stake.

And since all human cells contain the genetic material of the person, it is usually not much of an inconvenience to collect the necessary samples for DNA testing.