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Hawaii estate administration

Hawaii probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $100,000

This guide explains probate in Hawaii: Hawaii is a Uniform Probate Code state. Personal property of a decedent whose gross Hawaii estate does not exceed $100,000 can be collected by affidavit under HRS § 560:3-1201, presented with a death certificate and with no statutory waiting period. Probate proceedings are filed in the Circuit Court, where the statewide opening fee is $150 under HRS § 607-5 (the (c)(14) probate fee of $100 plus the (c)(32) civil-filing administrative cost of $50). Personal representatives receive reasonable compensation under § 560:3-719.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

Hawaii simplified probate route

Hawaii allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under HRS § 560:3-1201 when "the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000" and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in Hawaii. The affidavit is presented with a death certificate; the statute states no waiting period, and motor vehicles registered to the decedent may transfer regardless of value.

Collection of personal property by affidavit (HRS § 560:3-1201)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

Hawaii estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededOpening a decedent's estate (probate/administration) in Circuit Court2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.HRS § 560:3-719 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$100,000

Hawaii allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under HRS § 560:3-1201 when "the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000" and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in Hawaii. The affidavit is presented with a death certificate; the statute states no waiting period, and motor vehicles registered to the decedent may transfer regardless of value.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

$150

HRS § 607-5, the circuit-court cost schedule, imposes two mandatory charges on a probate filing. Item (c)(14) fixes the fee for "Probate, administration, domiciliary foreign personal representative, or ancillary administration"; item (c)(32) adds a separate administrative cost levied on "all civil filings except those brought by the State or any of the various counties or political subdivisions of the State". A circuit-court probate filing is a civil filing, so both apply. The two statutory components combine to an opening total of $150, itemized in the fee schedule below, and each component is pinned to its own primary-source assertion. The § 607-5 preamble excludes small estates whose amount is fixed by another statute; items (14) and (32) themselves fix these charges.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

HRS § 560:3-719 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Multiple triggers

Hawaii runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar running from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 560:3-801(a), published once a week for two successive weeks); a sixty-day actual-notice period for creditors served written notice (§ 560:3-801(b)); and an outer nonclaim bar of eighteen months after death where no notice to creditors has been published or served (§ 560:3-803(a)(2)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-801 (Hawaii State Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)

Timeline and creditor details

Hawaii provisions this site could not read

Not every state serves its own code. Where Hawaii did not, the attempt is recorded here instead of being covered over with a figure copied from a secondary summary. Each row names the authority that would settle the question and the page that failed to return it.

Authority soughtWhat is therefore not publishedTried on
Haw. Rev. Stat. (commissions of personal representatives)Hawaii’s commission schedule could not be read from the state’s own site — representative pay2026-09-17

Hawaii decision map

The four facts that change the Hawaii route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Hawaii amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

QuestionRecorded Hawaii answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavit (HRS § 560:3-1201)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?No universal waiting period stated; Hawaii runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar running from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 560:3-801(a), published once a week for two successive weeks); a sixty-day actual-notice period for creditors served written notice (§ 560:3-801(b)); and an outer nonclaim bar of eighteen months after death where no notice to creditors has been published or served (§ 560:3-803(a)(2)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$150 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the Circuit Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?HRS § 560:3-719 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Hawaii amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Hawaii ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Hawaii figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Hawaii counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Hawaii ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate in Hawaii is handled by the Circuit Court of each judicial circuit. The Judiciary publishes statewide court forms and self-help resources. The $150 probate opening fee is fixed statewide by HRS § 607-5 — item (c)(14) ($100) plus the item (c)(32) administrative cost on all civil filings ($50); the § 560:3-1201 affidavit is a private demand instrument presented with a death certificate, not a court filing.

Source trail

Records used by this Hawaii map

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue

What Hawaii courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Probate in Hawaii is handled by the Circuit Court of each judicial circuit. The Judiciary publishes statewide court forms and self-help resources. The $150 probate opening fee is fixed statewide by HRS § 607-5 — item (c)(14) ($100) plus the item (c)(32) administrative cost on all civil filings ($50); the § 560:3-1201 affidavit is a private demand instrument presented with a death certificate, not a court filing.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.