The father and mother of an unmarried minor child are jointly the natural guardians of the child's person and property. They shall have equal powers and duties with respect to the child and neither shall have any right superior to that of the other concerning the child's custody or control or any other matter affecting the child; provided that if either parent dies or abandons the family or is incapable for any reason to act as guardian, the guardianship devolves upon the other parent, and that when the parents live apart, the court may award the guardianship to either of them, having special regard to the interests of the child. The father and mother of unmarried minor children shall jointly and severally be liable in damages for tortious acts committed by their children, and shall be jointly and severally entitled to prosecute and defend all actions in which the children or their individual property may be concerned.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 577-3
Natural guardian; liability for torts of child
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case 430 F. Supp. 2d 1112 - Allstate Insurance v. Davis (2006)
Most recently applied in 430 F. Supp. 2d 1112 - Allstate Insurance v. Davis (May 2006)
CC 1859, §1288; RL 1925, §3033; am L 1931, c 77, §1; RL 1935, §4511; RL 1945, §12262; RL 1955, §330-3; HRS §577-3; am L 1972, c 144, §1; gen ch 1985
Official source: Hawaii State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Hawaii statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.