Hawai'i Parenting Time Schedules (Custody and Visitation)

Hawai'i wants both parents to have frequent, continuing and meaningful contact with their child when possible. A parenting time schedule supports your child by making it clear when you and your co-parent will spend time with them.

How you get a parenting time schedule

Open a Hawai'i court case for divorce or paternity. The result will be a custody arrangement and usually a parenting time schedule. Once a court orders a schedule, you and your co-parent both have to follow it.

The best approach is to work together to draft a schedule. When parents propose a schedule together, the court is likely to approve it.

But if you can't agree on the details, a judge will consider your arguments and decide for you.

Parents have the right to return to court to seek custody and parenting time — even if a court previously did not give them what they asked for. A change to a court order is called a modification.

How to choose the right schedule for your family

Consider age-appropriate schedules for your child. Younger kids benefit from seeing both parents frequently, while older kids can stay longer in one place. Siblings benefit from maintaining their relationships with each other.

Keep in mind your work and school schedules, your travel time to exchange your child, and any relevant preferences your child may have.

Be aware that if the noncustodial parent has more than 143 overnights with the child per year, they pay reduced child support. It's worth calculating your overnights exactly. The Custody X Change app does this automatically.

Equal time-sharing

There are different ways to split parenting time equally. If it's truly equal (50/50), you'll reach the child support reduction for equal time-sharing.

In the 2-2-3 schedule, your child spends two days with you, two days with the other parent, then returns to you for three days. The next week, the order switches.

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A teenager might do well with an alternating-weeks schedule in which they live with you for one week, then with the other parent for the next. The "off" parent could have a midweek visit for a few hours.

Extensive time-sharing

Sometimes equal time just isn't possible.

That may be because one parent lives far from the child's school. In that case, one solution could be for the child to stay with one parent during the school week and see the other on weekends.

In the every-extended-weekend schedule, parents have roughly a 60/40 time split.

When one parent has three overnights a week, they have extensive time-sharing, aka extensive visitation.

This arrangement will qualify for a reduction in child support, though it'll be smaller than the reduction for equal time-sharing.

Less equal time-sharing

Every weekend

In the every-weekend schedule, the weekend parent has about 30% of parenting time (a 70/30 schedule). Two overnights a week isn't enough to qualify for the child support reduction.

Reasonable visitation

An alternating weekends schedule might be referred to as reasonable visitation. The visiting parent would typically also get half of school breaks.

Step-up plan

Another possibility is that one parent has been absent or minimally involved but wants to show up more for the child in the future. A step-up plan may be appropriate so they can gradually increase their involvement.

How to write a schedule

You'll need a regular schedule, plus you'll need to know what you'll do during school breaks (if different), holidays and special occasions like birthdays.

Don't forget Hawai'i state holidays. In Custody X Change, you can enter custom holidays that repeat every year:

• Prince Kuhio Day (March 26)
• King Kamehameha Day (June 11)
• Statehood Day aka Admissions Day (the third Friday in August)

You can customize the Easter holiday to start two days early to include Good Friday.

And you can add Election Day (in even-numbered years, a Tuesday in November) as a one-time event if it will affect your parenting schedule.

You may want to address time your child regularly spends with other caregivers (like grandparents or daycare providers).

Set a rule for when one parent can take the child away on vacation.

If you'll need separate rules for vacations on island, interisland, on the mainland or in other countries, that's important to clarify. Write them in your parenting plan.

The Custody X Change online app can help you create a visual schedule that's automatically put into words for court. You can print it, and you can also keep it in the app so you can get notifications when it's time for an exchange.

Reasons to get a court-ordered schedule

Some parents don't propose a visitation schedule because they work together amicably and feel confident they can be flexible with each other. The court may allow them to go without a schedule.

However, if you expect to have close to equal time, you'll probably want a schedule. That's because you'll qualify for an adjustment to child support:

• The parent who pays support shows a schedule to the child support authorities to prove they qualify for a reduction.
• The parent who receives support can use the schedule to hold the other parent accountable for their parenting time. If the other parent isn't reaching the promised overnights, the support amount may be adjusted higher.

Another benefit of a schedule is that it helps both parents communicate. The child benefits too from a stable arrangement.

You don't need a schedule if one parent is absent. The involved parent likely receives sole legal custody and sole physical custody. The court decision is called a default judgment when one parent doesn't respond to the court case at all.

The easiest way to make a schedule

If you're like most parents, creating a custody and visitation schedule will feel daunting. How do you write something that meets legal requirements and doesn't leave any loose ends?

The Custody X Change app makes it easy. Either customize a schedule template, or click and drag in your custody calendar to make a schedule from scratch.

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Then watch a full description appear in your custom parenting plan.

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The combination of a visual and written schedule means your family will have no problem knowing who has the child when. Take advantage of Custody X Change to make your schedule as clear and thorough as can be.