Hawaii Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Hawaii probate cases are heard by the Circuit Court's Estate and Probate Branch, and Hawaii is one of the few states that adopted the Uniform Probate Code closely enough that a court registrar, not a judge, can open an uncontested estate in about a week.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Hawaii

Hawaii genuinely adopted the Uniform Probate Code, codified as Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 560 (Title 30A), and its procedural tracks follow the UPC model closely rather than approximating it. Probate is handled by the Circuit Court in whichever of Hawaii's 4 judicial circuits the decedent lived; the larger circuits, including the First Circuit on Oahu, maintain a dedicated Estate and Probate Branch and a separate Small Estates Office.

Informal probate, under HRS Chapter 560, Article III, is the most common and lowest-friction track. A court registrar, not a judge, reviews the application, and if it is in order, issues a Statement of Informal Probate along with Letters appointing the personal representative, without any court hearing. It is available only for uncontested matters, and practitioner sources report that appointment can often happen within about 5 to 7 business days of a complete application.

Formal probate is a court-supervised judicial proceeding, required when there is a will contest, a dispute among heirs, or another complication that needs a judge's determination. Once opened, formal proceedings further split into unsupervised and supervised administration, consistent with the standard three-tier UPC structure; supervised administration, where the court stays actively involved throughout, is used rarely, typically when a beneficiary needs ongoing court protection.

Hawaii also has a summary administration track for estates where assets, after allowances and costs, are insufficient to pay all claims in full. In that situation, the personal representative can close the estate by filing a closing statement without completing the full formal process.

Intestate Succession in Hawaii: Who Inherits Without a Will

This is where Hawaii's genuine UPC adoption matters most. Unlike states that give a surviving spouse a flat fraction of the estate, Hawaii's intestate succession statute, HRS § 560:2-102, uses a dollar-bracket formula: the spouse (or "reciprocal beneficiary," a Hawaii-specific legal status distinct from marriage) receives a fixed dollar amount off the top, plus a fraction of whatever balance remains, and both the dollar amount and the fraction change depending on who else survives.

The table's dollar-bracket rows are the ones that distinguish Hawaii from a simple 50/50 or one-third split, but the most common real-world case, a spouse and only their shared children with no children from outside the marriage on either side, actually falls under the very first scenario: the spouse takes the entire estate under HRS § 560:2-102(1)(B), the same result as if there were no descendants at all. The dollar brackets apply only once a blended family is involved. One bracket covers a blended family where every one of the decedent's children is also the spouse's child, but the spouse separately has children of their own from a prior relationship; the spouse's dollar bracket there is $330,000. The other bracket covers the opposite blended scenario, where the decedent has at least one child who is not the surviving spouse's child, such as a child from a prior marriage; there, the spouse's dollar bracket drops to $220,000. Both brackets carry a one-half share of whatever balance remains after the dollar amount, but which bracket applies depends entirely on whose children they are.

Whatever does not pass to the spouse, or the entire estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes under HRS § 560:2-103, which the legislature rewrote in 2023 (Act 158, § 10). It no longer works as a simple waterfall in which each tier inherits only if every tier above it is empty.

The estate passes first by representation to the decedent's surviving descendants. If no descendant survives but a parent does, the estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving parents plus deceased parents who left surviving descendants of their own. One share goes to each surviving parent, and the balance passes by representation to the deceased parent's descendants. A surviving parent and a deceased parent's children can therefore inherit at the same time.

Where the decedent was a minor, a parent is deemed to have predeceased the child, and so takes nothing, if clear and convincing evidence shows that parent deserted the minor for at least 90 days without affording means of identification, or, while the minor was in another person's custody and the parent was able to act, failed for at least a year to communicate with the minor or failed for at least a year to provide care and support despite an order requiring child support.

Grandparents work the same way. If no descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent survives, the estate is divided into shares equal to the number of surviving grandparents plus deceased grandparents who left surviving descendants. Each surviving grandparent takes one share, and the balance passes by representation to the deceased grandparents' descendants. The current statute does not divide the estate into paternal and maternal halves.

Hawaii then adds a tier most states do not have. If no descendant, parent, descendant of a parent, grandparent, or descendant of a grandparent survives, the estate passes by representation to the surviving descendants of the decedent's deceased spouse or reciprocal beneficiary. In practice, stepchildren can inherit before the estate escheats to the State.

Hawaii is not a community-property state, so this framework governs the full probate estate rather than just one spouse's separately-owned half.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Hawaii's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Hawaii Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Hawaii

Hawaii's small estate affidavit, under HRS § 560:3-1201, is available when the gross value of the decedent's estate located in Hawaii is $100,000 or less. Motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may be transferred regardless of value and do not count against the cap; the statute contains no exclusion for property passing to a surviving spouse. No court filing is required. The affidavit, along with a certified death certificate, is presented directly to the bank, institution, or person holding the decedent's personal property, using official form 3CE210 available through the Hawaii State Judiciary. It cannot be used to transfer real property. For thresholds, waiting periods and forms, see our guide to the Hawaii small estate affidavit.

Because Hawaii's median home price far exceeds the $100,000 threshold, this affidavit is realistically usable mainly for estates consisting of personal property only, or very modest estates with no in-state real property. Estates that include a home typically need to use the informal or formal probate track instead, or the summary-closing option described above.

Hawaii Estate Tax

Unlike most states, Hawaii levies its own state estate tax, separate from and in addition to the federal estate tax; it does not have a separate inheritance tax, since the tax is assessed against the estate rather than individual beneficiaries. The 2026 exemption threshold is $5.49 million per individual, with rates graduated from 10% up to 20%, and the top 20% rate applying to the portion of a taxable estate above $10 million. Portability lets a married couple shelter roughly $10.98 million combined. This is separate from the federal estate tax, which in 2026 applies only above $15,000,000 per person.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

When a will contest is likely, a blended family shifts the spouse's share, or the estate is large enough for Hawaii's estate tax, get a free case evaluation from a Hawaii probate attorney on guiding the personal representative through the administration (attorney advertising). For a straightforward, uncontested estate, Hawaii's informal probate track, handled by a registrar without a hearing, is specifically designed to be navigable without one. See Probate by State for how Hawaii's dollar-bracket approach compares to other states' intestate succession rules.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Hawaii as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Hawaii, particularly for a contested estate, a blended family, or an estate large enough to raise Hawaii's state estate tax. Figures and thresholds change; verify current details directly with HRS Chapter 560 or the Hawaii State Judiciary before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What court handles probate in Hawaii?

The Circuit Court in the judicial circuit where the decedent lived, through its Estate and Probate Branch. Oahu's First Circuit also maintains a separate Small Estates Office.

What is the difference between informal and formal probate in Hawaii?

Informal probate is handled by a court registrar without a hearing, often completed in about 5 to 7 business days for uncontested estates. Formal probate is a judicial proceeding required when there is a will contest or a dispute among heirs.

Who inherits if you die without a will in Hawaii?

A surviving spouse's share depends on who else survives, using a dollar-bracket formula under HRS § 560:2-102 rather than a flat fraction. The spouse takes the entire estate if there are no descendants or parents, and also takes the entire estate if every one of the decedent's descendants is also the spouse's descendant and the spouse has no other descendants of their own. Otherwise the share ranges from a first $400,000 plus three-quarters of the balance (a parent survives, no descendant) down to a first $220,000 plus half the balance (the decedent had children who are not the spouse's).

What is Hawaii's small estate threshold?

A small estate affidavit is available when the gross value of the decedent's estate located in Hawaii is $100,000 or less. Motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may be transferred regardless of value and do not count against the cap; the statute contains no exclusion for property passing to a surviving spouse. HRS § 560:3-1201.

Does Hawaii have an inheritance tax or estate tax?

Hawaii has no separate inheritance tax, but it does levy its own state estate tax, separate from the federal estate tax, with a 2026 exemption of $5.49 million per individual and rates from 10% to 20%.

How does Hawaii treat blended families under intestate succession?

Hawaii's formula distinguishes them explicitly. If all of the decedent's children are also the spouse's, but the spouse has other children of their own, the spouse's bracket is the first $330,000 plus half the balance. If the decedent has a child who is not the spouse's, the bracket drops to the first $220,000 plus half the balance.

Does a will avoid probate in Hawaii?

No. A will still generally needs to be authenticated through probate, whether informal or formal. What a will avoids is Hawaii's intestate succession order and its dollar-bracket formula, meaning your own choices control distribution instead.