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HRS §583A-204

Emergency child custody orders when a child is in danger

A Hawaii court can make a temporary custody order if the child is in Hawaii and has been abandoned or is in immediate danger of abuse. This order lasts only until another state with proper authority steps in, unless no other state acts. The court must talk to the other state's court if one is involved.

childrencourtsparents

The statute, as written — Temporary emergency jurisdiction

(a) A court of this State has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this State and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse. (b) If there is no previous child-custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter and a child-custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203, a child-custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203. If a child-custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203, a child-custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides, and this State becomes the home state of the child. (c) If there is a previous child-custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter, or a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203, any order issued by a court of this State under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203. The order issued in this State shall remain in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires. (d) A court of this State which has been asked to make a child-custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child-custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 583A-201 to 583A-203, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this State which is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to sections 583A-201 to 583A-203, upon being informed that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child-custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§583A-201 When Hawaii can decide child custody first

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.