Hawaii Child Support

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A parent's child support obligation is a serious matter in any divorce involving children. Both parents need to fulfill their responsibilities towards their minor child. Generally the courts order child custody for one parent and the other parent has to bear the financial responsibility to meet the basic needs of the child. Thus child maintenance guidelines are formed to define how this duty will be performed by the non-custodial parent. In Hawaii the separating parents have to abide by the child maintenance guidelines as defined by the state laws. These guidelines were revised in August, 2010. Hawaii Divorce child support orders may be established, enforced, terminated or modified through the Office of Child Support Hearings, the Child Support Enforcement Agency or the Family Court.

Various aspects of child subsidy guidelines prevalent in Hawaii are discussed below.

Calculation of Hawaii Divorce Child Support

In Hawaii the 'Percentage of Income formula' is applied to calculate the amount of child subsidy. This is a simple process. A certain percentage of the income of the non-custodial parent, depending on the number of children, is found out. Some stipulation is made for the education, maintenance and support of a minor or adult child. In case of an incompetent adult child, provision is made for the above three points irrespective of whether a petition is made by the parent or not.

How to modify Child Support

This can be done in the following 2 methods:

• The parent desirous of a modification must make a request to the CSEA (Hawaii Child Support Enforcement Agency) in written form. Such a parent should have completed an application for CSEA services. An exception to the previous statement is when the parent is receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) from the Department of Human Services.
• The parent may approach the Family Court and file the relevant documents for initiation of action for alteration of child subsidy amount.

The parent requesting for modification of child support order can use any one of the above-mentioned methods, but he/she must mention a reason. If the previous order modification was done less than three years ago, then the concerned parent should mention the alteration in circumstances that have occurred.

Termination of Hawaii Divorce Child Support

The Office of Child Support Hearings is empowered to terminate child support duties. Although a parent has to pay for his/her child until the child becomes 18, in many cases the relevant obligations may be continued for a longer period. If the child continue his/her studies as a full-time student, the obligations may be continued until he/she becomes 23 years old.

Some occurrences that may result in termination of this support are as follows:

• The child marries.
• The child enters active duty military service.
• There is a failure to submit evidence of enrollment in school in a timely way.
• There is a break in school enrollment.

The laws of this state and the terms of the support order determine the time period for which the parent must pay the support amount. When the child completes 18 years of age, the obligation for support in this state ceases. An exception is when the order mentions that support must be continued though the child has become a major (i.e. 18 years old).

If the child is a student in a vocational school or university or accredited college for a full time course, an order might be issued to continue support till the 23^rd birthday of the child. However, there is one condition. The child or the custodial parent must furnish evidence of continued education for the spring and fall semesters of every year in school.

Payment options of Child Support

Via Western Union

• Credit card payment over the Internet or by telephone using Discover, Visa or Master Card
• Cash payment at a close by Western Union agent along with a trivial fee

Electronic Funds Transfer

• The employers can use the ACH (Automated Clearing House) network for Electronic Data Interchange/Electronic Funds Transfer (EDI/EFT) to transfer the withheld payments to the CSEA.
• Non-custodial parents can use EFT for making payments to CSEA by means of Expert pay.

These are the basic Hawaii Divorce Child Support laws and guidelines. You should abide by these guidelines and pay the support amount in a legal manner; otherwise you may be subject to enforcement procedures. The court may file liens against your property, suspend professional and driver licenses and this offense may be reported to the national credit agencies. You may be denied passport also. So think wisely and act judiciously.

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