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Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 578-12 (2026)

  Setting aside or modifying decree

✓ current as of July 2026
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     §578-12  Setting aside or modifying decree.  At any time within one year from the date of entry of any decree of adoption, the court may, for good cause, set aside or modify the decree and, in connection therewith, may make appropriate orders, concerning the custody of the minor child and the disposition and handling of the record of adoption by the department of health.  The setting aside or modification of any decree of adoption shall not affect any property rights which have become vested between the date of the entry of the decree or the effective date of the decree and the effective date of any order setting aside or modifying the decree of adoption.

     No decree of adoption shall be subject to attack in any collateral proceeding, and, after the expiration of one year from the date of its entry, no decree of adoption shall be subject to direct attack upon any ground other than fraud rendering the decree void as of the time of its entry. [RL 1945, pt of §12276; am L 1945, c 40, pt of §1; am L 1947, c 47, §2; am L 1953, c 115, pt of §1; RL 1955, §331-12; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §19; HRS §578-12; am L 1973, c 211, §3(j)]

 

Case Notes

 

  Review of decree:  Persons entitled to petition for review, and to appeal from court's determination.  45 H. 69, 361 P.2d 1054 (1961).

  Decree may not be attacked after one year except on the ground of fraud.  1 H. App. 364, 619 P.2d 1092 (1980).

 

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: In Re the Adoption of a Male Minor Child, 619 P.2d 1092 (Haw. App. 1980).
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In Re the Adoption of a Male Minor Child, 619 P.2d 1092 (Haw. App. 1980). · cites it 8× “The statute applicable to this case, HRS § 578-12, is essentially the same as the relevant portion of section 12276, RLH 1945, as amended in 1953.”
In re: KKA, 475 P.3d 1190 (Haw. App. 2020). · cites it 7× “HRS § 578-12 (2018) provides, in relevant part: At any time within one year from the date of entry of any decree of adoption, the court may, for good cause, set aside or modify the decree and, in connection therewith, may make appropriate orders, concerning the custody of the…”
In Re: The Adoption of a Male Child (Haw. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “moved to overturn Child's adoption on February 28, 2023. The family court entered an order denying A.”
In re: Adoption of B.H. (Haw. App. 2025). “Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 578-12 (2018) authorizes the family court, for good cause shown, to set aside any decree of adoption within one year from its date of entry and to make appropriate orders concerning the custody of the minor who is the subject of the decree.”
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