TN 101 (12-23)

GN 00306.470 Hawaii Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Prior to 01/1/76, child or father acquires status of child or parent if parents intermarry.

2. B. 

   Effective 01/1/76, unless otherwise specified below, the following provisions apply:

   1. 1. 

      A court judgment or order is determinative, for all purposes, in establishing any parent and child relationship. Such a court action is subject to certain statutory provisions. With respect to a child who has no presumed father (under the presumptions in 2. below), such an action must be commenced within 3 years of the child's birth or by 01/01/79, whichever is later, with certain exceptions. Such actions may be joined with an action for divorce, annulment, separate maintenance, or support.

      If a court judgment is issued after the time limit, submit the case to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) per GN 01010.815 ff. For claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, a court order is no longer required. SSA may make its own adjudication of paternity, with no time limit, using a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof, except as otherwise specified.

   2. 2. 

      Otherwise, the parent-child relationship between a child and:

      1. a. 

         The natural mother may be established by proof of her having given birth to the child, or as set out below;

      2. b. 

         The natural father may be established if:

         1. (1) 

            He and the child's natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce, or after a decree of separation is entered by a court; or

         2. (2) 

            Before the child's birth, he and the child's natural mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:

            • •

              If the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage, or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce; or

            • •

              If the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation; or

         3. (3) 

            After the child's birth, he and the child's natural mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:

            • •

              He has acknowledged his paternity of the child in a writing filed with the department of health; or

            • •

              With his consent, he is named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or

            • •

              He is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order; or

         4. (4) 

            While the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child; or

         5. (5) 

            Effective 06/08/95, he submits to genetic testing and the results, as stated in a report prepared by the testing laboratory, do not exclude the possibility of his paternity of the child, provided the testing used, if performed after
            
            04/22/94, has a power of exclusion greater than 99.0 percent and a minimum combined paternity index of 500 to 1; or

         6. (6) 

            Effective 06/21/97, he filed with the Department of Health a written acknowledgment of paternity, signed under oath; or

         7. (7) 

            Effective 05/30/87 and prior to 06/21/97,he files with the department of health:

            • •

              A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity of the child, signed by him under oath; and

            • •

              A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity of the child, signed by the natural mother under oath.

            The department of health shall prepare a new certificate of birth. The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity by the presumed father filed with the department of health pursuant to this paragraph shall not preclude the presumed father from subsequently filing a motion objecting to the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. The motion shall state the factual basis for placing the issue of paternity before the court; or

         8. (8) 

            Effective 01/01/76 and prior to 05/30/87, he acknowledges his paternity of the child in a writing filed with the department of health, which shall promptly inform the mother of such filing, and she does not dispute the acknowledgment within a reasonable time after being informed thereof in a writing filed with the department of health.

            If another man is presumed under this section to be the child's father, acknowledgment may be effected only with the written consent of the presumed father or after the presumption has been rebutted. If the acknowledgment is filed and not disputed by the mother and if another man is not presumed under this section to be the child's father, the department of health shall prepare a new certificate of birth in accordance with State law.

   1. 3. 

      A presumption under this section may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence. If two or more presumptions arise which conflict with each other, the presumption which on the facts is founded on the weightier considerations of policy and logic controls. The presumption is rebutted by a court decree establishing paternity of the child by another man.

3. C. 

   To establish paternity in the absence of one of the above presumptions, or to rebut a presumption of paternity, SSA will consider evidence such as:

   1. 1. 

      Evidence of sexual intercourse between the mother and the alleged father at any possible time of conception;

   2. 2. 

      An expert's opinion concerning the statistical probability of the alleged father's paternity based upon the duration of the mother's pregnancy;

   3. 3. 

      Genetic test results, as set forth below, including blood test results, weighted in accordance with evidence, if available, of the statistical probability of the alleged father's paternity;

   4. 4. 

      Medical or anthropological evidence relating to the alleged father's paternity of the child based on tests performed by experts;

   5. 5. 

      A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity that shall create a rebuttable presumption of paternity; and

   6. 6. 

      All other evidence relevant to the issue of paternity of the child.

   For purposes of evaluating genetic test results, SSA will consider the following:

   • •

     "Genetic test" means the testing of inherited or genetic characteristics (genetic markers) and includes blood testing for paternity purposes.

   • •

     Effective 04/22/94, the testing utilized must have a power of exclusion greater than 99.0 percent, and a minimum combined paternity index of 500 to 1, and shall be performed by an expert qualified as an examiner of genetic markers. Prior to 04/22/94, these requirements do not apply, but the evidence may be given less weight by SSA.

   • •

     A report of the facts and results of genetic tests shall be admissible in evidence by affidavit of the person whose name is signed to the report, attesting to the procedures followed in obtaining the report.

1. D. 

   Insofar as practicable, the foregoing provisions pertaining to establishment of the father-child relationship by court decree apply to the mother-child relationship.

2. E. 

   Generally, 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 Hawaii.