Divorce

For a judge to grant a divorce in Hawaii, the judge must find that at least one of the following reasons (grounds) for filing for divorce is true:

1. The marriage is irretrievably broken (cannot be fixed);
2. You and your spouse have lived separate and apart with a legal separation decree (“from bed and board”) for the time period the judge assigned, and at the end of that time, you and your spouse haven’t gotten back together (reconciled);
3. The judge issued an alimony order while you and your spouse were still married, and after two years, you and your spouse haven’t gotten back together (reconciled); or
4. You and your spouse have lived apart continuously for the two years before the divorce was filed, and the judge finds that:

• it is unlikely you and your spouse will get back together (reconcile); and
• granting a divorce in your situation is appropriate.¹

¹Haw. Stat. § 580-41