Hawaii Paternity Law

This information about Hawaii paternity legal statutes is provided for general use only. Journey Genetic Testing does not provide legal advice or representation. We encourage you to research your state laws for the most current information, or contact a family law attorney.

Hawaii Paternity Law: Section 584-1 to 584-4

§584-1 Parent and child relationship defined

As used in this chapter, “parent and child relationship” includes the legal relationship existing between a child and the child’s natural mother, between a child and father whose relationship as parent and child is established under this chapter, or between a child and the child’s adoptive parents, incident to which the law confers or imposes rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. [L 1975, c 66, pt of §1; gen ch 1985]

Attorney General Opinions Cited in discussion of hanai children. Att. Gen. Op. 93-1.
Case Notes: By their plain language, §584-3 and this section do not state that this chapter is the exclusive means by which paternity must be established; thus, this chapter is not the exclusive means by which a determination of paternity can be made. 99 H. 1, 52 P.3d 255

§584-2 Relationship not dependent on marriage

Any parent and child relationship established under this chapter extends to every such child and to every such parent, regardless of the marital status of the parents. [L 1975, c 66, pt of §1]

§584-3 How parent and child relationship established

(1) The natural mother may be established by proof of her having given birth to the child, or under this chapter;

(2) The natural father may be established under this chapter;

(3) An adoptive parent may be established by proof of adoption. [L 1975, c 66, pt of §1]
Case Notes By their plain language, §584-1 and this section do not state that this chapter is the exclusive means by which paternity must be established; thus, this chapter is not the exclusive means by which a determination of paternity can be made. 99 H. 1, 52 P.3d 255.

§584-4 Presumption of paternity under Hawaii paternity law

(a) A man is presumed to be the natural father of a child if:

(1) He and the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce, or after a decree of separation is entered by a court;

(2) Before the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:

(A) If the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage, or within three hundred days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce; or

(B) If the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within three hundred days after the termination of cohabitation;

(3) After the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:

(A) He has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the department of health;

(B) With his consent, he is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate; or

(C) He is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order;

(4) While the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child;

(5) Pursuant to section 584-11, he submits to court ordered genetic testing and the results, as stated in a report prepared by the testing laboratory, do not exclude the possibility of his paternity of the child; provided the testing used has a power of exclusion greater than 99.0 per cent and a minimum combined paternity index of five hundred to one; or

(6) A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity of the child signed by him under oath is filed with the department of health. The department of health shall prepare a new certificate of birth for the child in accordance with section 338-21. The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity by the presumed father filed with the department of health pursuant to this paragraph shall be the basis for establishing and enforcing a support obligation through a judicial proceeding.

(b) A presumption under this section may be rebutted in an appropriate action only by clear and convincing evidence. If two or more presumptions arise which conflict with each other, the presumption which on the facts is founded on the weightier considerations of policy and logic controls. The presumption is rebutted by a court decree establishing paternity of the child by another man. [L 1975, c 66, pt of §1; am L 1987, c 100, §3; am L 1995, c 106, §1; am L 1997, c 293, §42]

Case Notes
Legislature has not mandated that the presumption of paternity in subsection (a)(1) be rebutted before a paternity action against another man can be brought. 88 H. 159 (App.), 963 P.2d 1135. Where no conflict existed between two or more subsection (a) presumptions, subsection (b), which calls for the resolution of conflicting subsection (a) presumptions, was not applicable to case and family court was not required to choose between conflicting presumptions. 88 H. 159 (App.), 963 P.2d 1135.

Required Probability of Paternity for Hawaii Courts: 99%
Required Paternity Index: None

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