Hawaii Parenting Plans and Custody Agreements
You can write up your own parenting plan (on your own or with the other parent) or you can work with an attorney or legal professional and have them create it. If you don't want to pay the high cost of an attorney, and want to easily make your own agreement, you can use the Custody X Change software.
Custody X Change is software that creates parenting plans. You make each part of your agreement, and then you can print professional documents of your plan. Download a free 30-day trial and see how it can help you.
You can use Custody X Change to:
- Negotiate an agreement with the other parent
- Work with your attorney to come up with a parenting plan you like
- Prepare sample agreements for mediation
- Make a plan to present in court
The Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS §571-46.5) mandates that a parenting plan should be submitted by both parties involved in a contested child custody proceeding. You can mutually agree upon a plan and submit it jointly, or you may indicate your individual desires and submit your suggested plans separately and let the court decide.
Below you will find some information that may help you as you make your parenting plan.
A parenting plan in the State of Hawaii may include, but is not limited to, details concerning:
- A basic child visitation schedule/residential schedule. This should be as detailed as possible in order to provide the child with stability and to avoid any discrepancies and future disputes.
- A schedule for holidays, vacations, birthdays, and other special days. Work and school furloughs may also be included. This schedule should also be very detailed and include the times the special days begin and end. Provisions should be made for three day weekends and whether or not the parent with parenting time that weekend should have the child for the additional day.
- Provisions designating the decision making rights and all other responsibilities of each parent. This can included assigning one or both parents to be responsible for seeking non-emergency medical care, transporting the child to extracurricular activities, attending parent-teacher conferences, etc.
- Any applicable provisions pertaining to breast-feeding the child, and whether or not the baby will be formula fed on occasion or have bottled milk provided by the mother.
- Statements that provide the parents the right to access the child's records and important information, such as school records, medical information, and religious activities.
- A stipulation for the protocol if a parent should decide to relocate, or any stipulations that require the parents to maintain a residence within certain boundaries, such as remaining in the same city, residing within 20 miles of the child's school, or remaining on the island.
- Provisions for telephone access and other means of communication, such as e-mail and other electronic methods, with the child, providing the child liberal access to each parent and defining what reasonable contact the parent may have with the child.
- A first right of refusal clause that states each parent will contact the other parent prior to seeking third party services in order to offer the other parent the opportunity for extra parenting time in the event child care is needed, and an outline of the process in which to do so.
- Provisions regarding the transportation of the child during parental exchanges, including who will be responsible for transporting the child, the location of exchanges, and who will be responsible for any incurred expenses.
- A system for modifying the parenting plan, a method of enforcing the plan, and provisions for resolving any future disputes.
The State of Hawaii is very generous with parenting plans and allows as many details and provisions to be included in the agreement as the parents deem necessary. This allows you to address as many aspects of raising your child as you would like.
For example, you may include provisions for your child's personal belongings, and whether or not these items will be transported back and forth between the two homes, as well as whether or not your child's clothing should be returned after each visit or it is acceptable to share clothes between the two homes.
Planning ahead and adding provisions to meet your child's future needs, such as who will be responsible for paying for orthodontics or car insurance, agreeing upon what age your child should be allowed to date, or whether or not a disciplinary punishment, such as being grounded from the television, should be continued at the other parent's home or not.
You are basically free to include anything you want to in the parenting plan. Making a thoroughly detailed plan will help you in the long run as you won't have much to disagree on in the future.
If you are unable to reach an agreement with the other parent when creating the parenting plan, the court may order you to participate in a form of dispute resolution and/or counseling in an effort to help you come to an agreement.
The court recognizes the best interests of the child are of the utmost importance when ruling on child custody matters and recognizes that a parenting plan created and agreed upon by the parents is considerably more effective in maintaining the best interests of a child than a parenting plan written by the court would be.
However, if you should fail to cooperate, the judge will rule in accordance to the court's interpretation of the best interests of the child and will also hold any recommendations of a mediator in high regard.
Submitting an equitably written parenting plan that supports the welfare, happiness, and best interests of the child is the most likely way to have your parenting plan accepted by the court.
In all family law cases involving children, the main thing the court considers is the best interest of the child.
The law provides a list of factors that the court considers when determining what constitutes the best interest of the child.
You should also consider these factors when making your agreement because they can serve as a guideline as you make decisions:
- If there has been any history of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse or neglect of a child by a parent
- The overall quality of the parent-child relationship
- The history of caregiving and parenting by each parent
- How cooperative each parent has been in developing and implementing a plan and parenting schedule to meet the child's needs and interests
- Any physical health, emotional, safety, and educational needs of the child
- The child's need for relationships with siblings
- The willingness of each parent to allow the child to maintain family connections through family events and activities
- Each parent's actions that demonstrate if they can separate the child's needs from the parent's needs
- The mental health of each parent
- The areas and levels of conflict present within the family
- Any evidence of past or current substance abuse by a parent
Thinking about all of these things can help you make an agreement that will help your child adjust successfully to the new family situation. It can also help you put aside your own wishes and desires so that you can truly focus on what is best for your child.
As you follow the suggestions from the law, you will be able to make an agreement that is acceptable for the court and also one that works for your situation.
Related articles:
- Hawaii Custody and Visitation Schedules
- Creating Successful Parenting Plans
- A Complete Parenting Plan Template
- Child Custody Agreements with Custody X Change
The top ten cities in Hawaii (by population, US Census Bureau, 2008) are: Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua, Kaneohe, Waipahu, Pearl City, Waimalu, Mililani Town, Kaului, Kihei.