Honolulu Family Law Blog

Hawaii parents who are facing divorce may need to make a parenting schedule that outlines when the child will spend time with each of them. They should not think of this as a document that involves winning or losing and should not try to use it to undermine one another. Instead, the parenting schedule should serve its purpose of ensuring that the child keeps a relationship with both of them.

Parents should try to imagine themselves in their children's place and what would be important to them in that situation. If they have older children, those kids might have some input into the schedule. Convenience should not be a priority for parents, but they should think about their child's schedule. They should also consider logistics like the distance of their homes from one another and how close each lives to the school.

Parents in Hawaii who are considering divorce will likely need to think about how they will handle child custody. There are some that might argue that it's in the children's best interests for the mother to have full custody. They argue that, especially for toddlers and infants, overnight care with the fathers can lead to major issues.

However, data seems to indicate that these beliefs are unfounded. Recent studies have analyzed how joint custody and single-parent custody affects children, including infants and toddlers. The conclusion time and time again shows that shared parenting is usually better for the kids. The idea that infants or toddlers would fare badly if they spent the night with their father does not line up with a modern understanding of how children develop.

Divorces can be extremely difficult for everyone involved. Unfortunately, families can be further torn apart in divorces that end up in court. As a result, many families are choosing to settle their divorces outside of court through an alternative dispute resolution process known as “mediation.”

In a mediated divorce, a third-party mediator will help a divorcing couple make decisions on various issues. It is important for a mediator to help the couple reach decisions that they both agree upon.