My sister has protective custody of 2 of her grandchildren as well as their older sibling. My question is where can she go for help with getting dna from the child's deceased father . He is not on the child's birth certificate but she has his name and ss# and d.o.d . The fathers family has refused to provide dna . We feel that the child is entitled to benefits from the deceased father.

Seeing as he passed away, I guess your usual avenues are closed if the family will not help.

Exhumation anyone?

You will have to go to court for an order compelling a close family member to provide DNA. You will probably need to provide sufficient proof that he could be the father to get a court to issue an order.

Your sister (or better yet, their mother) could, in behalf of her grandchildren, perhaps ask the probate court to give them a share of the decedent's estate. This would be, however, assuming he left behind significant assets. If he didn't leave an estate, there would be little reason to litigate the matter.

Assuming there is a probate estate, DNA testing could probably be ordered. If sufficient DNA samples (from a hair brush, comb, etc. belonging to the decedent) remain, it might be relatively simple to test for paternity.

If the time for probate has not ended, she would file a case on their behalf.

I'm guessing here that the benefits being referred to are SS benefits.