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About Coastal Paternity

Trusted DNA & Drug Testing —
A decade of precision.

Court-admissible. Lab-certified. Built around one conviction: your family deserves documentation that holds up anywhere.

Our Story

Founded on clinical integrity.

Coastal Paternity was founded and is operated by Denise R. Drake, RN, BS, CLNC and Breana Smalls, B.A., CPT. Together, they bring clinical precision and compassionate client care to every case.

Based in Beaufort, South Carolina, Coastal Paternity serves clients throughout the Eastern Corridor of the United States — from the Southeast through the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast — providing court-admissible DNA testing and chain-of-custody drug testing for families, legal professionals, employers, and military families.

Partnered with AABB and New York State–accredited laboratories, every result we deliver meets the evidentiary standards required by courts, immigration authorities, and federal agencies.

For IVF and gestational surrogacy families: Born. Documented. Protected.™

Our Team

The people behind every result

Denise R. Drake
Founder & Lead DNA Collection Specialist

With 38 years of clinical nursing practice and certification as a Legal Nurse Consultant, Denise founded Coastal Paternity to bring the rigor of clinical documentation to biological parentage verification. Her dual expertise in nursing and legal consulting ensures every collection meets the evidentiary standards required by courts and federal agencies.

Registered Nurse (RN, BS)
Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC)
38 years clinical practice
AABB-accredited laboratory partner
Breana Smalls
Director of Operations

Breana oversees the day-to-day operations of Coastal Paternity, bringing both clinical and administrative excellence to every client interaction. As a Certified Phlebotomist and holder of a Bachelor of Arts, she leads client services, case coordination, and specimen collection — ensuring every collection is handled with precision, discretion, and care.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Certified Phlebotomist (CPT)
Client Services & Case Coordination
Chain-of-custody documentation
Credentials & Accreditation

The standard behind every result

AABB-Accredited Laboratory
All DNA analyses performed by our AABB-accredited laboratory partner — the gold standard for forensic and legal DNA testing.
New York State Accredited
Laboratory partner holds New York State accreditation — accepted by courts, agencies, and immigration authorities nationwide.
Legal Nurse Consulting
CLNC certification ensures our documentation meets the evidentiary standards of family law, immigration, and probate proceedings.
Military Family Services
Experienced in the documentation requirements of military benefits, JAG proceedings, and the unique needs of active duty families.
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Serving families, attorneys, and employers across the Eastern Corridor of the U.S.