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Hawaii timeline

Hawaii probate timeline and creditor deadlines

The statute states no universal waiting period for this route.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Hawaii they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

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

The one date this page can source

The statute for this route states no universal waiting period. That is recorded as “none stated” rather than as zero days, because a statute’s silence is not the same as a stated permission to proceed immediately. Other conditions in the same section still apply.

Creditor deadlines

Hawaii does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From publication of notice to creditors
No later than four months after the date of the first publication of the notice to creditors (HRS § 560:3-801(a)).
From actual notice to a known creditor
No later than sixty days after service of written notice on a known or reasonably-ascertainable creditor (HRS § 560:3-801(b), 560:3-803(a)(1)(B)).
Outer limit, running from death
Within eighteen months after the decedent's death, if notice to creditors has not been published under § 560:3-801(a) or served under § 560:3-801(b) (HRS § 560:3-803(a)(2)).

How these combine. 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.

notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims no later than four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barredHaw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-801 — Hawaii State Legislature; verified September 15, 2026.

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Circuit Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

Hawaii timeline decision map

What must be established before the Hawaii clock matters

The Hawaii waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

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.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the Hawaii deadlines into one date

The Hawaii record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Publication of noticeNo later than four months after the date of the first publication of the notice to creditors (HRS § 560:3-801(a)).Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-801
Actual notice to a known creditorNo later than sixty days after service of written notice on a known or reasonably-ascertainable creditor (HRS § 560:3-801(b), 560:3-803(a)(1)(B)).Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-801
Outer limit from deathWithin eighteen months after the decedent's death, if notice to creditors has not been published under § 560:3-801(a) or served under § 560:3-801(b) (HRS § 560:3-803(a)(2)).Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-801

How the periods combine: 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.

Case-file context

Keep the Hawaii answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Hawaii descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

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.

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.

Cost context

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.

$150 is the recorded statewide amount.

Compensation context

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.

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.

Court-material note: 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.

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

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  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

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Hawaii periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

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 in Hawaii