Child Support
HRS 576D-7 — statewide guidelines, a change presumed at ten per cent, and a review every three years
The family court, in consultation with the child support enforcement agency, sets guidelines that compute support from specific descriptive and numeric criteria. They may weigh both parents' net earnings, income and resources, their earning potential, reasonable necessities and borrowing capacity, the child's needs, other dependents, and keeping both households and the child above the poverty level where possible.
Who handles this in Hawaii: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
- The guidelines apply statewide and are updated at least once every four years.
- A parent who stays home with a school age child and is mentally and physically able to work may have a set number of weekly hours at the minimum wage counted as income.
When a change is presumed. A material change of circumstances is presumed when support under the current guidelines is ten per cent greater or less than the existing order. Either parent may ask the family court or the child support enforcement agency to review and adjust an order once every three years without showing any change, and more often with proof of a substantial or material change.
The guidelines and their worksheet are published by the family court rather than written into the statute. How they apply to a particular household are questions for a licensed Hawaii attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- HRS 576D-7 — Guidelines in establishing amount of child support
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.