§577-7  Parents' control and duties.  (a)  Parents or, in case they are both deceased, guardians, legally appointed, shall have control over the conduct and education of their minor children.  They shall have the right, at all times, to recover the physical custody of their children by habeas corpus.  All parents and guardians shall provide, to the best of their abilities, for the discipline, support, and education of their children.

     (b)  To the extent that the minor child has a beneficial interest in the income or principal of any trust which is applied for such purposes, parents or guardians shall not be required to pay the costs of registration, tuition, books, room and board, and other expenses incurred in connection with the attendance of a minor child at any private grammar, secondary, industrial arts or trade school, or at any college or university, whether or not the college or university is a private institution or is maintained by a state or any subdivision thereof.  The power of the family court under sections 580-47 and 580-74 to compel the parties to a divorce or separation to provide for the education of a minor or an adult child shall not be limited by any provision of this subsection. [L 1864, p 47; RL 1925, §3045; am L 1931, c 77, §3; RL 1935, §4513; RL 1945, §12264; RL 1955, §330-5; HRS §577-7; am L 1975, c 77, §1(2); am L 1982, c 84, §1]

Case Notes

  Applied in allocating to the mother damages for child's loss of support.  245 F. Supp. 981, 1014 (1965), aff'd 381 F.2d 965 (1967).

  Where parents voluntarily parted and later seek recovery of their child, the reasonable wishes of the child will have controlling influence.  6 H. 386 (1883).

  Parents are legal, proper and sole custodians of their children until right forfeited.  26 H. 433 (1922).

  In deciding question between divorced parents as to custody of child, paramount consideration is welfare of child, technical rights not controlling.  26 H. 465 (1922); 27 H. 742 (1924); 29 H. 85 (1926).  See 32 H. 731 (1933).

  Duty to support and right to service under §577-3 reciprocal and correlative.  27 H. 671 (1924); 32 H. 608 (1933).

  Wrongful death action of death of child, services, recovery.  37 H. 571 (1947).

  Court has jurisdiction in equity to award support to child in child's action against parent.  49 H. 200, 412 P.2d 638 (1966) (decided before family court established by chapter 571).

  Obligation enforceable in equitable action by child against parent.  49 H. 200, 209, 412 P.2d 638 (1966).

  Duty imposed on parents by section to provide for support of their children includes reasonably necessary and available medical services.  73 H. 236, 831 P.2d 924 (1992).

  The "physical harm" encompassed in the definition of family violence in §571-2 would not preclude a parent's right to use force to discipline a child as permitted by §703-309(1), and duty to discipline a child under subsection (a).  88 H. 200 (App.), 965 P.2d 133 (1998).

  Cited:  45 H. 69, 72, 361 P.2d 1054 (1961).