2021 Hawaii Revised Statutes
Title 31. Family
584. Uniform Parentage Act
- 584-1 Parent and child relationship defined.
- 584-2 Relationship not dependent on marriage.
- 584-3 How parent and child relationship established.
- 584-3.5 Expedited process of paternity. (a) To expedite the establishment of paternity, each public and private birthing hospital or center and the department of health shall provide unwed parents the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge the paternity of a child during the period immediately prior to or following the child's birth. The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity shall be in writing and shall consist of a single form signed under oath by both the natural mother and the natural father and signed by a witness. The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form shall include the social security number of each parent. Prior to the signing of the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form, designated staff members of such facilities shall provide to both the mother and the alleged father, if he is present at the facility: (1) Written materials regarding paternity establishment; (2) Forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity; and (3) Oral, video, or audio, and written descriptions of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, including, if one parent is a minor, any right afforded due to minority status. The completed voluntary acknowledgment forms shall clearly identify the name and position of the staff member who provides information to the parents regarding paternity establishment. The provision by designated staff members of the facility of the information required by this section shall not constitute the unauthorized practice of law. Each facility shall send to the department of health the original acknowledgment of paternity containing the social security numbers, if available, of both parents, with the information required by the department of health so that the birth certificate issued includes the name of the legal father of the child, which shall be promptly recorded by the department of health. (b) The child support enforcement agency shall: (1) Provide to any person or facility the necessary: (A) Materials and forms and a writte
- 584-4 Presumption of paternity.
- 584-5 Reserved.
- 584-6 Determination of father and child relationship; who may bring action; when action may be brought; process, warrant, bond, etc.
- 584-6.5 Temporary support order based on probable paternity.
- 584-7 REPEALED.
- 584-8 Jurisdiction; venue.
- 584-8.5 Paternity determinations from other states and territories. Paternity determinations from other states and territories, whether established through voluntary acknowledgment or through administrative or judicial processes, shall be treated the same as a paternity adjudication in this State. [L 1994, c 26, §1]
- 584-9 Parties; guardian ad litem for minor presumed or alleged father; county attorney or corporation counsel to represent custodial parent or agency; notice to parents.
- 584-10 Pretrial proceedings.
- 584-11 Genetic tests.
- 584-12 Evidence relating to paternity.
- 584-13 Pretrial recommendations.
- 584-14 Civil action.
- 584-15 Judgment or order.
- 584-16 Costs.
- 584-17 Enforcement of judgment or order.
- 584-18 Modification of judgment or order.
- 584-19 Right to counsel; free transcript on appeal.
- 584-20 Hearings and records; confidentiality.
- 584-20.5 Court filings; minutes of proceedings; posting requirement.
- 584-21 Action to declare mother and child relationship.
- 584-22 Promise to render support.
- 584-23 Birth records.
- 584-23.5 Paternity judgment, acknowledgment, support order; social security number.
- 584-23.6 Filing of acknowledgments and adjudications with department of health.
- 584-24 Custodial proceedings.
- 584-25 Uniformity of application and construction.
- 584-26 Short title.
Case Notes
By their plain language, 584-1 and 584-3 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 (2002).
The enactment of this chapter: (1) does not displace the Hawaii supreme court's previous decision in Blackshear; (2) does not prevent a proper litigant in a paternity action from asserting defenses based upon res judicata and equitable estoppel; and, (3) a final judgment, including a divorce decree, can serve as the basis for such defenses. 99 H. 1, 52 P.3d 255 (2002).
The term "may", as set forth in 560:2-114(a), is permissive, and, for purposes of intestate succession, a purported heir may establish his or her parent-child relationship with the decedent by any means permitted by statute, including, but not limited to, this chapter. 103 H. 275, 81 P.3d 1190 (2003).
This chapter did not implicate father's fundamental privacy right to procreational autonomy, but rather father's economic interest in not supporting his child, and although father had standing to raise an equal protection challenge to this chapter, that standing was based on a non-suspect classification, i.e., the biological relationship of fathers to their children; thus, because this chapter bears a rational relation to the public welfare, the statute survives rational basis review and father's privacy and equal protection arguments failed. 109 H. 240, 125 P.3d 461 (2005).