HAWAII

 Any single adult or stepparent may adopt, or a married couple may jointlyadopt.

Who Can Be Adopted?

 Any person can be adopted. For an adult to be adopted, he or she must givewritten consent.

Consent to Adoption

 The following persons must give written consent to the adoption:

 (1) the mother;

 (2) the legal father;

 (3) a man whom a court has ruled to be the father;

 (4) a man who is ``presumed" to be the natural father because

 the child was born during their marriage, or attempted marriage, or within300 days after their marriage or attempted marriage had terminated, or

 after the child's birth he and the mother were married or have attempted tomarry and he acknowledged his paternity of the child, he consented to his nameon the birth certificate, or he is obligated to support the child under awritten promise or court order, or

 he receives the child into his home and holds the child out to be hisnatural child, or

 he acknowledges his paternity of the child in writing;

 (5) a concerned natural father who is not the ``legal," ``courtapproved," or ``presumed" father but who has shown a reasonabledegree of interest in the welfare of the child, either

 during the 30 days after the child was born,

 before the mother consented to the adoption, or

 before the placement of the child with the adoptive parents, whichever timeperiod is greater;

 (6) any person or agency having legal custody;

 (7) the court, if there is no person who is empowered to consent;

 (8) the adoptee if more than 10 years of age, unless the court dispenses withtheir consent; and

 (9) the spouse of an adult adoptee.

 The following are persons who need not consent or who the court may decideneed not consent:

 (1) a parent who has deserted a child for 90 days without means ofidentification;

 (2) a parent who has voluntarily given the care and custody of the child toanother person for at least 2 years;

 (3) a parent who has failed to communicate or provide care and support for thechild for at least 1 year;

 (4) a natural father who was not married to the child's mother at the time ofthe child's conception or birth and does not fall into any of the abovecategories (numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the preceding list);

 (5) a parent whose parental rights have been judicially terminated;

 (6) a parent who is declared mentally ill or mentally retarded and is foundnot to be able to give consent;

 (7) any legal guardian, other than the parent, who has failed to respond inwriting to a request for consent for a period of 60 days, or has withheldconsent unreasonably;

 (8) a child who has been with the adoptive parent for at least 1 year, andwhose parents are in another country and their whereabouts and identity are notreasonably ascertainable;

 (9) a parent of an adult adoptee;

 (10) a natural father, who is not the legal father, is not required to consentif the stepfather is seeking adoption and the adoptee has lived with thestepfather for at least 1 year;

 (11) a concerned father who has not sought to adopt the child or whosepetition has been denied by the court; and

 (12) a presumed or concerned father who is determined by the court to be notfit or able to give the child a proper home and education.

 Once consent to adoption has been given it may not be withdrawn except bycourt approval, based on a finding that it would be in the child's bestinterest.

Confidentiality

 The adoption hearing shall be in closed chambers and not open to the public.The court records shall be sealed by the court, but on written request of theadoptive parents the court may decide not to seal the records. The seal may bebroken, and identifying information revealed by a family court order upon ashowing of good cause. For adoptions occurring prior to January 1, 1991, anadult adoptee or adoptive parents may petition the court for the record. Thelaw provides for extensive procedures to notify the natural parents of thisrequest. If the natural parents file an affidavit requesting continualconfidentiality, the record will remain sealed. A natural parent may file, atany time, an affidavit requesting up to 10 years of confidentiality (which maybe periodically refiled).

 For adoptions occurring after December 31, 1990, the adult adoptee or adoptiveparents may have access to the records unless there is an effective affidavitof confidentiality on file.

 If there are two natural parents, and only one waives confidentiality, therecord shall not include identifying information about the other naturalparent.

 If any adoptee, who is 18 or older, or the adoptive parent wants access tomedical information, they may file a written request with the Department ofHealth, which is authorized to disclose this information without courtapproval.

Permissible Fees

 There is nothing in the law about fees.

Place of Adoption Hearing

 The hearing may take place in the family court of the circuit in which theadoptive parent resides, where the adoptee resides or was born, or thechild-placing agency is located.

Authority To Place Child

 The Department of Human Services or a child-placing agency approved by theDepartment, or any other proper person not forbidden by law to place the childare authorized to place the child.

Relative Adoption

 There are no provisions in the law regarding relative adoptions.

State Law: FullText

Not available in electronic form at this time for this state, sorry.

Attorney Referral Service

Hawaii State Bar Association
Penthouse 1, 9th Floor
1136 Union Mall
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 537-1868

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