Under Hawaii marital property laws, courts divide marital assets equitably between spouses based on certain factors, including each spouse’s age, health, skills, employability, current financial condition, law violations, if any and whether dependent children are...
Honolulu Family Law Blog
What is the difference between mediation and litigation?
Mediation and litigation are two different ways of solving problems in family law cases. The most significant differences between the two are: Process Mediation is voluntary and informal. A neutral third-party mediator helps facilitate communication and negotiation...
What happens after a custodial parent relocates with your child?
A custodial parent who wants to relocate with their child often faces custody modification concerns. There may be court hearings that they need to attend to ensure that this decision will be in the child’s best interest. And there are many other factors to consider,...
When should you change a custody schedule?
When parents divorce, a custody schedule may determine where a child lives and how much access or visitation rights each parent has – but custody schedules don’t always reflect the changing needs of the child. A custody schedule often needs to be altered over time....
Establishing paternity in Hawaii: What to know
When you have paternity over a child, that’s legal standing as a child’s father. Until paternity is established, you don’t actually have any legal rights over your child – which means (among other things) that you have no authority over how they are raised and no...
What should you know about alimony in Hawaii?
When you expect your divorce to leave you at a financial disadvantage, you probably hope to find a way of improving your situation. Obtaining alimony (spousal support) can help you stretch your finances and possibly avoid undue economic hardships. Unfortunately,...
Understanding equitable division of marital property in divorce
Hawaii is among the many states that use the equitable division principle for marital property during a divorce. Therefore, when divorcing spouses cannot agree on how to divide marital assets during divorce and do not have a legally enforceable agreement like a prenup...
How do you decide who gets the rental home in your divorce?
One of your concerns when going through a divorce is what will happen to all of the assets you co-own with your ex-spouse. If you’ve been together a long time, this can be complicated - especially when everything belongs to both of you. It’s important for you that...
Can a new relationship impact your child custody case?
Divorce may mark the end of your romantic relationship with your spouse, but it is most often not the end of your love life. And sometimes, new love can come your way before you formally dissolve your marriage, especially if you were separated for a while before...
How long does a father have to establish paternity?
Parenthood is a lifelong commitment. Once someone helps to bring new life into the world, they often have a personal attachment and feel a sense of social obligation reinforced by their family and the broader community. However, from a legal sense, parents generally...