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NO. 22278 IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, STATE OF HAWAI#I, Petitioner-Appellee, v. JANE ROE, Respondent-Appellant, and JOHN DOE, Respondent-Appellee APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (FC-P No. 98-0121) MEMORANDUM OPINION Watanabe, Acting C.J., Lim, and Foley, JJ.)

(By:

Respondent-Appellant Jane Roe (Mother), the natural mother of a female minor born on June 22, 1993 (Child), appeals from various post-judgment decisions and orders entered by the Family Court of the First Circuit (the family court) in this paternity action (FC-P No. 98-0121) filed by Petitioner-Appellee Child Support Enforcement Agency of the State of Hawai#i (CSEA) on February 6, 1998 (the petition). Mother's contentions on appeal essentially revolve around two issues: first, the family court's determination of

the amount of past and current child support owed to Mother by Respondent-Appellee John Doe (Father), the acknowledged biological father of Child; and second, the family court's failure to order Father to pay sanctions to Mother as compensation for the extra work and expense she allegedly

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incurred due to Father's failure to provide requested documents and information that would cast light on what Father's income and property holdings were. We affirm. BACKGROUND The petition alleged, in relevant part, that: (1) Mother was unmarried at the time of Child's birth; (2) Father had signed an affidavit for Child's birth certificate with the Department of Health and therefore, was the presumed father of Child; (3) Child's legal status had not yet been established; and (4) Mother was receiving public assistance money from the Department of Human Services, State of Hawai#i (DHS). The petition requested in part that: (1) Mother be

granted care, custody, and control of Child; (2) Father be granted rights of reasonable visitation; (3) Father be ordered to pay or make reimbursement for his proportionate share of Mother's pregnancy-related and Child's birth-related medical and hospital expenses; (4) Father be ordered to provide medical insurance coverage for Child; (5) Father be ordered to pay for past support accrued from the time of Child's birth, or the filing of the petition, whichever was appropriate, up until entry of a support order; and (6) Father be ordered to pay for Child's support, maintenance, and education from the time of Child's birth until Child reached the age of eighteen, and thereafter, so long as

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Child was pursuing a high school diploma or enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited educational and/or vocational institution and under age twenty-three. A. The February 27, 1998 Hearing

At a hearing on the petition held on February 27, 1998, neither Father nor Mother disputed that Father was Child's biological father. Much of the hearing focused on what Father's

income and assets were for purposes of calculating Father's past and future child support obligations. The testimony and evidence offered at the hearing revealed that Father was the sole employee at Wu's Sundries in Hau#ula, a convenience store owned by Father's parents. He was

paid seven dollars an hour by his parents to manage the store, and, according to his pay stubs, regularly received $770 for the first part of the month and $840 for the second part of the month, a total of $1,610 a month. Father lived with his

girlfriend at 54-060 Kamehameha Highway in a three-bedroom, one-bath house behind the store, for which he paid his parents $250 a month in rent. The house had previously been rented to

"three childs (sic) and three adults" for $1,000 a month. However, Father testified, the rental "was a bad experience and we stopped renting [the house] out."

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Asked at the hearing whether he owned any property, Father answered in the negative. then ensued:
[CSEA's ATTORNEY]: [FATHER]: No. You own no property?

However, the following colloquy

My name is in couple of my parent's [sic] properties, though. [CSEA's ATTORNEY]: Okay.

Then you do own property. How many properties do you own -- are your name on the title of? [FATHER]: know that. THE COURT: [FATHER]: THE COURT: [FATHER]: THE COURT: the store? That I have to ask my parents. I don't

These are income producing property? Not that I -You rent it out? Yeah. Well, you're entitled to this house behind

[FATHER]: Well, it -- they put my name on the -- on the deed and so forth because they travel a lot and in case anything happens and so forth then my name is in there. And we -- we never did just take it out after that. I don't want my name in any property and so forth. So,

Mother testified that she is a full-time student at the University of Hawai#i and lives with her grandparents rent-free. She had been paying $350 per month in child care expenses, but starting on the Monday following the hearing, due to her "grandparent's physical condition," she would need to enroll Child full-time in pre-school at a cost of $425 per month. 4

Mother also testified that she was receiving public assistance for Child and herself in the amount of $800 per month.1 At the conclusion of the hearing, the family court ordered Father to pay $650 per month in child support and reserved the issue of past child support until Father could provide a more accurate picture of his financial situation. The

family court directed both parties to submit to the court before May 21, 1998 an Asset and Debt Statement. Additionally, Father

was directed to produce his "taxes, going back to date of birth of [Child] and . . . a listing of all properties, identifying the value of the properties, the location of the properties as well as who else is on the title and the way the title is held." Thereafter, on March 4, 1998, the family court entered a written judgment, ordering, adjudging, and decreeing, in relevant part, that: (1) Father shall add Child to his medical

plan; (2) Mother shall have sole custody of Child, subject to visitations by Father according to a schedule approved by the family court; (3) Mother shall consult with Father before making major decisions concerning Child; and (4) Father shall pay $650 in child support each month, commencing April 1998 and continuing until Child "becomes 18, or until 23 so long as [Child] is still in high school or enrolled full time in an accredited educational
1 According to the testimony of Respondent-Appellant Jane Roe (Mother), she received $450 per month in public assistance for her daughter, born on June 22, 1993 (Child). In addition, she received between $350 and $400 monthly in food stamps and public medical benefits.

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or vocational institution, or until the further order of the [c]ourt." The judgment also provided that the child support order was temporary and subject to modification retroactive to the commencement date of the order, and reserved the issue of past child support pending further determination by a competent tribunal. Finally, the family court ordered that: (1) all

parties shall appear for "further pre-trial on May 28, 1998, at 8:30 a.m."; (2) Mother and Father shall submit "Income and Expense and Asset and Debt Statements by May 21, 1998"; and (3)
Father shall provide by May 21, 1998 the following:

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