Twin brothers who both slept with the same woman within a week have found themselves in court after scientists were unable to determine who the baby's father is.
A court heard it cannot be determined which one of the two is the father, as their DNA is the same.
The Court of Appeal heard there is a 50/50 chance that either one of the twins could be the parent after the woman had sex with both men in a four-day window in 2017.
The mother remained in a casual relationship with one of the twins, and he was named on the birth certificate.
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However, the case was brought to family court in 2024 after they broke up, and both brothers claimed the daughter was theirs.
Lawyers had sought to have the twin removed from the birth certificate following the break-up.
The court ruled his name would stay on the certificate as it would be impossible to prove he was not the biological father.
The court chose to remove his right to parental responsibility of the now eight-year-old girl.
Twin brothers are unable to determine who is the father of a child after they both slept with the same women within four days
|PA
The ruling said: “By the time [she] reaches maturity it may be possible for science to identify [the] father, but, for the coming time that cannot be done without very significant cost, and so her "truth" is binary and not a single man. It is for [her mother] to determine how she is introduced to this truth over time.”
Judge Reardon, who presided over the case, said: “They have both claimed her; and they are both pursuing this claim at considerable financial and personal cost, including a cost to their own relationship which, before this issue arose, was close.”
Both twins took a DNA paternity test, however they both returned positive results. The issue is understood to have driven a wedge between the two brothers.
The details of the case emerged after local authorities encountered legal issues when arranging welfare for the daughter.
The case has been described as “highly unusual and possibly unique” by Emma Hubbard, senior associate at Hall Brown Family Law, she said: “The circumstances of this case are relatively unusual.
“I certainly can’t think of another one involving the same complications.
“Where no definite biological link can be proven, it means a child may grow up having only a mother with parental responsibility for them.
“Over the years, courts have questioned whether someone can only really be a father with parental responsibility if there is a biological link to a child.
The Court of Appeal chose to remove his right to parental responsibility of the now eight-year-old girl
|GETTY
“This judgement indeed means just that. If there is no biological connection, there can be no parental responsibility, regardless of whether someone is named on a birth certificate,” she concluded to the Mail.
The court heard that the only way to tell the twin brothers apart would require complete DNA analysis, which could pick up tiny mutations between the two brothers.
However, such an analysis would cost around £90,000, and may not provide conclusive results.
It was concluded that the price range of the testing was out of reach for the brothers.
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