Hawaii Residency Requirements

The Hawaii Family Court must have “jurisdiction” over you before it can issue a divorce decree.  The Family Court has jurisdiction over you if you meet certain “residency” requirements.  You meet these residency requirements if either you or your spouse has (1) lived in Hawaii for at least six continuous months; and (2) you or your spouse has lived on the same island for at least three months.  If you don’t meet these residency requirements, you may simply wait until you do, or you may apply for a legal separation or temporary restraining order from the Family Court, which may provide temporary custody and visitation orders.

Call our Honolulu Family Law and Divorce lawyers for a free telephone consultation and analysis of your case.

Click on the links at the left to learn more about the Hawaii family law.