Hawaii Revised Statutes 571. Family Courts

PART I. ESTABLISHMENT; PERSONNEL

• 571-1 Construction and Purpose of Chapter.
  This chapter shall be liberally construed to the end that children and families whose rights and well-being are jeopardized shall be assisted and protected,...
• 571-2 Definitions.
  When used in this chapter, unless the "Administrative monitoring" means a legal status of a child adjudicated for a status offense or a law...
• 571-3 Family Courts, Divisions of Circuit Courts.
  The family courts shall be divisions of the circuit courts of the State and shall not be deemed to be other courts as that...
• 571-4 Family Courts, Circuits.
  In the first circuit any judge or judges so designated by the chief justice of the supreme court shall be the judge or judges...
• 571-5 Board of Family Court Judges.
  A board of family court judges, which shall consist of all the State's family court judges and district family judges is hereby created. The...
• 571-6 Appointment and Duties of Employees.
  (a) For each family court, the judge, or the senior judge when there is more than one judge, shall appoint a chief administrative and...
• 571-7 Repealed.
  L 1973, c 219, §4.
• 571-8 District Family Courts; District Family Judges; Appointment; Sessions.
  (a) In addition to the district courts established under section 604-1, there may be established in each of the judicial circuits of the State...
• 571-8.1 Qualifications; Tenure; Removal.
  Each district family judge shall reside in the judicial circuit for which the district family judge is appointed and shall have been an attorney...
• 571-8.2 Salary of District Family Judges.
  The salary of each district family court judge of the various district family courts of the State shall be the same as that of...
• 571-8.3 Disqualification; Absence; Vacancy.
  Whenever it is advisable, by reason of a vacancy in the office of district family judge of any circuit, or by reason of the...
• 571-8.4 Jurisdiction.
  The senior judge or judge of the family court of the circuit may direct that any case coming within the jurisdictional provisions of this...
• 571-8.5 Powers.
  (a) The district family judges may: (1) Administer oaths; (2) Subpoena, summon, and compel the attendance of parties and witnesses from any part of...

PART II. JURISDICTION

• 571-11 Jurisdiction; Children.
  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings: (1) Concerning any person who is alleged to...
• 571-12 Transfer From Other Courts.
  If, during the pendency of a criminal charge against a minor in another court, it is ascertained that the minor was less than eighteen...
• 571-13 Retention of Jurisdiction.
  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, jurisdiction obtained by the court in the case of a minor may be retained by it, for...
• 571-14 Jurisdiction; Adults.
  (a) Except as provided in sections 603-21.5 and 604-8, the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction: (1) To try any offense committed against a...

PART III. INITIATION OF CASES

• 571-21 Complaint; Investigation; Petition.
  In the Best Interests of the Child: Juvenile Justice or Adult Retribution? 23 UH L. Rev. 341. §571-21 Complaint; investigation; petition. (a) Except as...
• 571-22 Waiver of Jurisdiction; Transfer to Other Courts.
  In the Best Interests of the Child: Juvenile Justice or Adult Retribution? 23 UH L. Rev. 341. §571-22 Waiver of jurisdiction; transfer to other...
• 571-22.5 Appeal of Waiver of Jurisdiction.
  In the Best Interests of the Child: Juvenile Justice or Adult Retribution? 23 UH L. Rev. 341. [§571-22.5] Appeal of waiver of jurisdiction. An...
• 571-23 Summons; Notice; Custody of Minor.
  In the Best Interests of the Child: Juvenile Justice or Adult Retribution? 23 UH L. Rev. 341. §571-23 Summons; notice; custody of minor. After...
• 571-24 Failure to Answer Summons; Warrants.
  In the Best Interests of the Child: Juvenile Justice or Adult Retribution? 23 UH L. Rev. 341. §571-24 Failure to answer summons; warrants. Any...

PART IV. CUSTODY, DETENTION, AND SHELTER

• 571-31 Taking Children Into Custody; Release; Notice.
  (a) A child may be taken into custody by any police officer without order of the judge when there are reasonable grounds to believe...
• 571-31.1 Standard for Detention.
  (a) As used in this chapter, "protection of the community" means there is a threat to, and a necessity to protect, the person or...
• 571-31.2 Juvenile Intake and Diagnostic Services.
  (a) The court or other designated agency shall: (1) Notify the child's parent, guardian or legal custodian or take reasonable action to ensure that...
• 571-31.3 Voluntary Assistance.
  A child or the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian may voluntarily apply to the court or other designated agency to obtain appropriate services,...
• 571-31.4 Informal Adjustment, Law Violators.
  (a) When a child reasonably believed to come within section 571-11(1) is referred to the court or other designated agency, and is not diverted...
• 571-31.5 Informal Adjustment, Status Offenders.
  (a) When a child reasonably believed to come within section 571-11(2) is referred to the court or other designated agency, informal adjustment shall be...
• 571-31.6 Informal Adjustment, Minor Who May Be Both Law Violator and Status Offender.
  When a child is reasonably believed to come within section 571-11(1) and (2), the intake officer may exercise discretion to process informal adjustment under...
• 571-32 Detention; Shelter; Release; Notice.
  (a) If a child who is believed to come within section 571-11(1) or (2) is not released as provided in section 571-31 and is...
• 571-32.1 Contract and Fee-For-Service Accommodations.
  To provide for children under section 571-32, the family court may provide, on a contractual or on fee-for-service basis, accommodations in child caring institutions...
• 571-33 Detention and Shelter Facilities.
  Provisions shall be made for the temporary detention of children or minors in a detention home, to be conducted as an agency of the...
• 571-34 Criminal History Record Checks.
  The judiciary shall develop standards to ensure the reputable and responsible character of employees of detention facilities defined in this chapter which shall include...

PART V. PROCEDURE AND DECREE

• 571-41 Procedure in Children's Cases.
  (a) Cases of children in proceedings under section 571-11(1) and (2) shall be heard by the court separate from hearings of adult cases and...
• 571-41.1 Extradition of Minors to Hawaii.
  Any person who violates, or is alleged to have violated, any law of this State defining a crime, and is at the time of...
• 571-41.2 Extradition of Minors From Hawaii.
  Any person who violates, or is alleged to have violated, any law of another state defining a crime and is at the time of...
• 571-42 Procedure in Adult Cases.
  (a) In any criminal proceeding arising under section 571-14, except as to cases involving abuse of a family or household member, the court, with...
• 571-43 Additional Remedies Not Pleaded.
  When it appears, during the course of any trial, hearing, or proceeding, that some action or remedy other than or in addition to those...
• 571-44 Physical or Mental Examination and Treatment.
  The court may order that a child or minor concerning whom a petition has been filed shall be examined by a physician, surgeon, psychiatrist,...
• 571-45 Assessment and Investigation Prior to Disposition; Suspension of Delinquency Proceedings; Denial of Services Reporting.
  (a) Prior to disposition, the court shall conduct a risk and needs assessment, using the tool procured and validated pursuant to section 571-5, for each...
• 571-46 Criteria and Procedure in Awarding Custody and Visitation; Best Interest of the Child.
  (a) In actions for divorce, separation, annulment, separate maintenance, or any other proceeding where there is at issue a dispute as to the custody...
• 571-46.1 Joint Custody.
  (a) Upon the application of either parent, joint custody may be awarded in the discretion of the court. For the purpose of assisting the...
• 571-46.2 Orders Relating to Custody and Visitation Cases.
  In any action involving the custody or visitation of a minor child, the court may order any party and the minor child, as needed,...
• 571-46.3 Grandparents' Visitation Rights; Petition; Notice; Order.
  A grandparent or the grandparents of a minor child may file a petition with the court for an order of reasonable visitation rights. The...
• 571-46.4 Child Custody Evaluators; Qualification; Registry; Complaints.
  (a) A person may be appointed as a child custody evaluator for purposes of section 571-46 if the person is actively licensed as a: (1)...
• 571-46.5 Parenting Plans.
  (a) For every action that includes a contested custody of children, both parties or both parents shall develop either a mutually agreed-upon general parenting...
• 571-47 Determination of Parentage of Child Born in Wedlock.
  Whenever, in any action involving the custody or support of a child apparently born in lawful wedlock, the parentage of the child is placed...
• 571-48 Decree, If Informal Adjustment or Diversion to a Private or Community Agency or Program Has Not Been Effected.
  When a child is found by the court to come within section 571-11, the court shall so decree and in its decree shall make...
• 571-48.5 Probation Supervision Requirements.
  Every child placed on probation pursuant to section 571-48(1)(A) shall be supervised in accordance with the following requirements: (1) Supervision levels, frequency of contacts...
• 571-48.6 Earned Discharge From Probation; Reporting Requirements.
  (a) A child placed on probation pursuant to section 571-48(1)(A) shall be eligible to receive earned discharge credits to reduce the length of the...
• 571-49 Repealed.
  L 1976, c 85, §12.
• 571-50 Modification of Decree, Rehearing.
  Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, any decree or order of the court may be modified at any time. At any time during...
• 571-51 Support of Minor Committed for Study or Care.
  Whenever legal custody of a minor is given by the court to someone other than the minor's parents, or when a minor is given...
• 571-51.5 Modification of Support and Visitation Decrees.
  (a) The special court trustee may assist any parent, guardian, or custodian materially affected by a court order or decree with the modification of...
• 571-52 Assignment by Court Order of Future Income for Payments of Support.
  (a) Whenever any person has been ordered to pay an allowance for the support of a child or for the support and maintenance of...
• 571-52.1 Repealed.
  L 1988, c 200, §5.
• 571-52.2 Automatic Assignment by Court or Administrative Order of Future Income for Payment of Child Support.
  (a) Notwithstanding section 571-52, the court shall order an assignment of future income when: (1) The court has ordered any person (hereinafter the "obligor")...
• 571-52.3 Immediate Income Withholding.
  In any case where child support is an issue, and an order for child support is established or modified, and the obligor receives income...
• 571-52.5 Guidelines to Determine Child Support Amounts.
  When the court establishes or modifies the amount of child support required to be paid by a parent, the court shall use the guidelines...
• 571-52.6 Child Support Order, Judgment, or Decree; Accident and Sickness Insurance Coverage.
  Each order, judgment, or decree under this chapter or chapter 576B, 580, or 584 ordering a person to pay child support shall include the...
• 571-52.7 Award of Costs and Reasonable Attorneys' Fees.
  Whenever a party files a motion seeking to enforce a child support order, the court may award the prevailing party the party's costs and...
• 571-53 Signing of Papers.
  Unless otherwise specifically provided by law, any decree, order to show cause, injunction, summons, subpoena, warrant, or notice issued by the court in connection...
• 571-54 Appeal.
  An interested party, aggrieved by any order or decree of the court, may appeal to the intermediate appellate court for review of questions of...
• 571-55 Certification in Lieu of Oath.
  Whenever any testimony, declaration, deposition, certification or pleading in the family court is required or authorized to be on oath or affirmation, the person...
• 571-56 Offense.
  A person who makes a false statement which the person does not believe to be true commits an offense whether the false statement is...
• 571-57 Penalty.
  The penalty for the offense of making a false statement under "penalty of perjury" shall be the same as would apply if the false...

PART VI. TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

• 571-61 Termination of Parental Rights; Petition.
  (a) Relinquishment. The parents or either parent or the surviving parent who desire to relinquish parental rights to any natural or adopted child and...
• 571-62 Hearing; Investigation and Report.
  Every petition under section 571-61 shall be filed in duplicate and the clerk of the court in which the same is filed shall immediately...
• 571-63 Findings and Judgment.
  No judgment of termination of parental rights entered under sections 571-61 to 571-63 shall be valid or binding unless it contains a finding that...

PART VII. JUVENILE CRIME PREVENTION BUREAU

• 571-71 Juvenile Crime Prevention Bureau; Establishment Of.
  Any chief of police may establish as a subdivision of the police department under the chief's jurisdiction a juvenile crime prevention bureau, to be...
• 571-72 Duties and Powers; Reports; Expungement of Juvenile Arrest Records.
  (a) The juvenile division or section shall direct its attention specifically to the suppression, prevention, and investigation of crimes committed by children under the...
• 571-73 No Limitations on Family Courts.
  Nothing in section 571-71 or 571-72 shall be construed to divest family courts of any of their powers, but the same shall specifically grant...
• 571-74 Rules and Standards; Investigation and Questioning; Fingerprinting and Photographing.
  The judges of the family courts shall make such rules and set up such standards of investigation and questioning as they consider necessary to...

PART VIII. GENERAL PROVISIONS

• 571-81 Contempt of Court.
  (a) Any adult who wilfully violates, neglects, or refuses to obey or perform any lawful order of the court may be proceeded against for...
• 571-82 Court Sessions; Quarters.
  Sessions of the court shall be held at such places as the court shall determine, subject to section 603-14. [L 1965, c 232, pt...
• 571-83 Court and Witness Fees.
  In proceedings under section 571-11(1), (2), or (9), no court fees shall be charged against, and no witness fees shall be allowed to, any...
• 571-84 Records.
  (a) The court shall maintain records of all cases brought before it. Except as provided in section 571-84.6, in proceedings under section 571-11 and in...
• 571-84.5 Support Order, Decree, Judgment, or Acknowledgment; Social Security Number
  . The social security number of any individual who is a party to a divorce decree, or subject to a support order or paternity determination,...
• 571-84.6 Minor Law Violators; Proceedings and Records Not Confidential.
  (a) As used in this section: "Legal record" means petitions, complaints, motions, and other papers filed in any case; transcripts of testimony taken by...
• 571-85 Authority of Probation Officers; Additional Probation Officers.
  Within the scope of their duties, probation officers appointed under this chapter shall have the powers and privileges of a police officer. In addition...
• 571-86 Cooperation.
  Every public official or department shall render all assistance and cooperation within the official's or its jurisdictional power which may further the objects of...
• 571-86.5 Statewide Juvenile Justice Interdepartmental Cluster; Local Juvenile Justice Interdepartmental Cluster; High-Need Youth Services Coordination.
  (a) There is established a statewide juvenile justice interdepartmental cluster to provide coordinated services, as defined in section 571-2, to certain children under the...
• 571-87 Appointment of Counsel and Guardian Ad Litem; Compensation.
  (a) When it appears to a judge that a person requesting the appointment of counsel satisfies the requirements of chapter 802 for determination of...
• 571-88 Orders Expunging Juvenile Arrest Records.
  (a) The court may issue an order expunging a juvenile arrest record of a person upon written application by the person or, if the...
• 571-89 Family Court; Annual Report.
  Each deputy chief court administrator, or the administrator's designee, shall submit an annual report to the board of family court judges and the Hawaii juvenile...

PART IX. MILITARY DEPLOYMENT PROVISIONS

• 571-91 Definitions.
  As used in this part: "Deployment" or "deployed" means military services performed in compliance with a valid order received by an active duty or reserve...
• 571-92 Application.
  This part shall only apply to actions under chapters 580 and 584. Nothing in this part shall supersede any provision of any existing state or...
• 571-93 Duty to Cooperate and Disclose Information.
  (a) Both the deploying parent and other parent shall cooperate with and provide information to each other in an effort to reach a mutually...
• 571-94 Hearings; Electronic Participation.
  Upon reasonable advance notice to the court and the other parent and for good cause shown, the court may expedite custody hearings involving deploying...
• 571-95 Sole Factor; Effect on Existing Orders.
  (a) Deployment or the potential for future deployment shall not be the sole factor in awarding custody and must be considered in relation to...
• 571-96 Visitation and Contact.
  Unless otherwise ordered by the court and consistent with the best interest of the child, including safety considerations in cases involving a finding of...
• 571-97 Delegation of the Deployed Parent's Contact Rights to Another.
  (a) Upon motion of the deploying parent and consistent with the best interest of the child, including safety considerations in cases involving a finding of...

Last modified: October 27, 2016