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Hawaii Custody

Child custody is simple once you understand how the Hawaii custody system works.

And that becomes a pain in the wallet for you, because what the politicians in Tallahassee tell you about child custody in Hawaii isn't always true.

The system isn't quite as fair as you'd like to believe.

If you look at child custody guidelines, there will be references to "primary caretaker" and "more qualified" parent.

What you won't see listed in any of the official guidelines are all the intangible criteria that are actually used to determine child custody in the real world.

And that means if you and your spouse are unable to establish a child custody arrangement, the state will decide where your children live.

The child custody process starts when you file a motion at your local Hawaii county courthouse.

At some point, the county will assign a Hawaii custody evaluator who will meet with the parties involved; including the school, doctors, etc.

The county will conduct an evaluation to determine which of you is the best parent for the children.

This all begins with an evaluation done by an assigned custody evaluator.

Even better, expect to be subjected to a psychological profile and at the end of this process, the custody evaluator will write a report and submit that to family court.

You'll receive a copy of the evaluation report.

Most people think custody is determined by the judge, well, the fact is custody is established by the evaluator, not a judge.

The judge will simply read the evaluators report and rubber stamp it, because the judge knows very little about you, your spouse, your children, or your family setting.

The evaluator on the other hand has conducted extensive research and issues a report, so there's no way the judge is going to overrule the evaluators recommendation.

In a highly contested dispute, a judge will sometimes order a guardian ad litem to protect the children's interests during a custody evaluation.

This person will not decide custody, but will act as a advocate of the children to ensure the children's interests are protected while the parents argue about custody.

Guardians can be lawyers or social workers as long as they are approved by the court and there are private guardian ad litems as well as public ones employed by your local Hawaii county.

Private guardians charge from $50 per hour to $400, where public guardians generally charge less.

Typically the cost of the guardian ad litem is shared by each spouse.

If you can't afford a guardian ad litem, typically one is provided free of change.

If you want your Hawaii custody case executed properly, Matt O'Connell's divorce guide is the ultimate resource for you. Matt O'Connell is the leading expert on the Internet and has been providing divorce advice in Hawaii since 2005.

Matt is the leading expert on the Internet and has been providing divorce advice since 2005.

In his guide, he details the entire divorce process and common pitfalls.

Even if you're using a attorney, his advice will still save you thousands and get you a better result.

So Click Here to give Matt's advice a try.