Paternity claims and tissue testing

If you want to bring your family from abroad to make aliyah, and to register a child as yours and an Israeli, you will need to submit a paternity claim and to produce a court order endorsing that you are the father - Lawyer Carmi Ronen has experience of dozens of paternity claims, and will make the procedure feasible and swift for you.

Sometimes, paternity testing is necessary even when both partners know who is the father.

For example, in the case of surrogate parenting from abroad, when registering the child as an Israeli citizen, where the mother is neither Israeli nor Jewish, or when the couple are not registered in Israel as married and they did not register the child under the father's name during the first year.

Why is paternity testing necessary?? 

The Ministry of the Interior is suspicious with regard to paternity in Israel, when the mother is not Jewish or is not an Israeli citizen. This suspiciousness is even greater when the couple are not registered as married, in the case of a divorced couple, or in the case when they were never married, and stems from the fact that recognition of paternity grants economic benefits for the child. Due to the suspicious Israeli policy, the Ministry of the Interior demands a court order from a Family Court that shows that the child is, in fact, of that father.

Paternity testing even when you are sure that you are the parents

Why is paternity testing necessary?? Suspiciousness

The Ministry of the Interior is suspicious with regard to paternity in Israel, when the mother is not Jewish or is not an Israeli citizen. This suspiciousness is even greater when the couple are not registered as married, in the case of a divorced couple, or in the case when they were never married, and stems from the fact that recognition of paternity grants economic benefits for the child. Due to the suspicious Israeli policy, the Ministry of the Interior demands a court order from a Family Court that shows that the child is, in fact, of that father.

Paternity testing - not just a test

According to the 'Genetic Data for Family Relations Law' the test results will be accepted by the authorities only if there is a court order from the Family Court - where the Court sends the parties to do the test. This court order is issued after submitting a claim for paternity testing, and after the Attorney General, who is the one who responds to the paternity testing claim, agrees to the conduction of the test. The claim must be backed up by affidavits from the parties, officially declaring their agreement to the test.

For this to happen, it must be proved that the test itself will not harm the child - for instance, will not make him a "mamzer" (illegitimate child according to Jewish Law). For example, if it will turn out that the mother is Jewish, or even if there is a doubt regarding her being Jewish, and that she was married to another man at the time, it will be very hard for the Attorney General to authorise the test; regrettably, out of concern for the welfare of the child, it will probably not be possible to conduct the test.

If the child for whom the paternatity testing is requested is no longer a minor, the court will require an official signed agreement from the adult child, similarly to the required agreement of the mother in the case of a minor.

The advantage of the above-described claims is that none of the parties object to conducting the test. If one of the parents objects, a more complex procedure with the courts will be necessary, where the claimants will need to convince the court regarding the liklihood of the paternity, the necessity of the test and the best interest of the child.

Attorney Carmi Ronen

Tissue testing

Once the Family Court accepts that the test is necessary and will not harm those involved, a court order is issued. The test is conducted in designated laboratories found in one of four hospitals, unless one or more of those tested reside abroad. In this case, the test can only be conducted in the Sheba Hospital. The test is not cheap; for example, in the Sheba Hospital the test costs 1,150 NIS per person + 575 NIS for a saliva test kit, so that the total cost reaches around 4500 NIS, without taking into account the legal costs, the court charges, the translation costs and the notary's payment for verification of the translation (which are mainly done abroad). None of the private laboratories that advertise on the internet at lower prices are relevant in the case of a court order. Only the laboratories recognised by the court can perform the test.

If the father resides in Israel and the mother and the child reside abroad, the test will be conducted in accordance with the "Foreigners Procedure", in the presence of the Israeli consul in the Israeli Consulate of the relevant country. The test will be sent back to the laboratory in the Sheba Hospital, and a response will be sent to the court after about a month. In accordance with the results of the test, the court will issue the longed-awaited verdict.

On receipt of the authentic signed verdict from the court where the claim was submitted, it is possible to go to the Ministry of the Interior and register the child as a bona fide Israeli.

Where can things go wrong?

1. The main complications to do with getting the court order are in obtaining the documents and their translation in accordance with the legal requirements. Usually, these are documents from different countries, and there are discrepancies between the countries.
2. In addition, there is no record of the religion of the mother in many countries, and it is necessary to prove the religion of the mother and of the father before the Attorney General can respond to the claim, and to be sure that the mother is not Jewish.
3. Since the request must be backed by a signed affidavit, it is necessary to get the claimants, who are often in another country, to countersign the documents in the Israeli Consulate in their country.
4. The sought-after court order confirming that the claimants are, indeed, the child's parents, may be received within four months of initiating the procedure, but it may take longer. It is a procedure made up of a number of stages that "burn up" a lot of time.
5. Before contacting a lawyer, it is advisable to find out that he is dealing with family law and has already filed a paternity claim in the past, and has direct contact with the Judiciary and its requirements, which will save you a lot of time and money in filing the lawsuit and obtaining the long-awaited verdict.

You were told to bring a court order stating that you are the parents - contact us and we will help you.