Hawaii Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, Holographic Wills (2026)

In Hawaii, an individual 18 or older who is of sound mind may make a will (HRS 560:2-501). Under HRS 560:2-502, the will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by someone else in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two individuals, each within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. No notary is required, and a will whose signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not. Living trusts are governed by HRS chapter 554D, which "may be cited as the Uniform Trust Code" and applies from January 1, 2022.

Three features stand out among the wills and trusts laws by state: witnesses do not have to sign together, a gift to a witness is not voided, and a court may accept a document that misses the formalities if there is clear and convincing evidence the person intended it as a will (560:2-503).

Information last verified on 2026-10-19. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Hawaii statutes on making, signing, proving, changing and revoking wills (HRS chapter 560, article II) and on revocable living trusts (HRS chapter 554D). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Hawaii probate), small-estate procedures (see the Hawaii small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Hawaii power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Hawaii advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Hawaii?

Capacity is set by HRS 560:2-501: "An individual eighteen or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will." The section has no exception for a married or military minor.

The form is set by 560:2-502(a):

"(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in sections 560:2-503, 560:2-506, and 560:2-513, a will must be: (1) In writing; (2) Signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and (3) Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after the individual witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph (2) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will." (HRS 560:2-502(a))

What that means in practice:

• Writing and signature. The will must be written. Someone else may sign the testator's name, but only in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction.
• Two witnesses, flexible timing. Each witness must have witnessed either the testator signing or the testator acknowledging the signature or the will, and must sign within a reasonable time afterward. The text does not require the witnesses to sign together or in the testator's presence.
• No notary. Section 2-502 does not require a notary.
• Intent. Under 2-502(c), "Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence."

Who can witness

Under 560:2-505(a), "An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will." Section 2-505(b) adds: "The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it, including any gift to or appointment of the witness." A beneficiary who witnesses a Hawaii will keeps the gift.

Wills signed in another state or country

Under 560:2-506, "A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 560:2-502 or 560:2-503 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national."

Lists of personal items

A Hawaii will may refer to a separate written list to dispose of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, "other than money" (560:2-513). The list must be signed by the testator and describe the items and recipients with reasonable certainty. It may be prepared before or after the will and may be altered by the testator after it is prepared.

Does a Hawaii will need to be notarized? The self-proving option

No notary is needed for validity. Notarization is used for a self-proved will under HRS 560:2-504. Under 2-504(a), "A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal," in substantially the statutory form. The statutory form is set out in section 2-504; this page does not reproduce it.

An attested will can also be made self-proved at any time after it is signed, by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the acknowledgment occurs (2-504(b)). Under 2-504(c), "A signature affixed to a self-proving affidavit attached to a will is considered a signature affixed to the will, if necessary to prove the will's due execution." In a contested case where proper execution is at issue, a self-proved will "shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements for execution without the testimony of any attesting witness," on filing the will with its acknowledgment and affidavits, "unless there is evidence of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit" (560:3-406(1)).

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Hawaii?

Yes. Section 560:2-502(b) provides: "A will that does not comply with subsection (a) is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting."

Two points from the text:

• The whole document does not have to be handwritten. The signature and the "material portions" must be.
• Under 2-502(c), intent that the document be a will can be shown by extrinsic evidence, "including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting."

A handwritten will valid where it was signed, or under the law of the testator's domicile, place of abode or nationality, is also valid under 2-506.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid?

No. Section 560:2-502(a) requires a will to be in writing, and the holographic, harmless-error and personal-property-list routes in 2-502(b), 2-503 and 2-513 all start from a document or writing. Sections 560:2-501 to 2-517 contain no provision for an oral will.

Is there a harmless-error rule?

Yes. HRS 560:2-503 provides that "Although a document or writing added upon a document was not executed in compliance with section 560:2-502, the document or writing is treated as if it had been executed in compliance with that section if the proponent of the document or writing establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute: (1) The decedent's will; (2) A partial or complete revocation of the will; (3) An addition to or an alteration of the will; or (4) A partial or complete revival of the decedent's formerly revoked will or of a formerly revoked portion of the will."

The standard is clear and convincing evidence, and the rule applies to a "document or writing," so it does not reach an oral statement.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Hawaii has no electronic-will statute. Section 560:2-502 requires a will in writing, and Hawaii's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act does not apply "to a transaction to the extent it is governed by: (1) A law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts" (HRS 489E-3(b)(1)). Sections 560:2-501 to 2-517 contain no remote-witnessing provision.

Remote witnessing was allowed only temporarily. During the COVID-19 emergency, the Attorney General's Emergency Rules Relating to Notaries Public (as amended November 16, 2020) provided that "The act of witnessing wills (or codicils as the case may be) may be performed before a notary public utilizing audio-visual technology, provided the wills (or the codicils as the case may be) contain self-proving language pursuant to section 560:2-504(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, or any self-proving affidavit," and the rules' other requirements were met. Those requirements included that the witnesses know the testator personally or see a current government-issued photo identification during the video conference; that the notary make a continuous live audio-visual recording; that the video conference allow direct, live interaction and let the witnesses see the entire space where the testator was located; that each witness sign a copy of the signature pages during the video conference and send it to the notary; and that the will state: "The witnessing of this will (or codicil) involved the use of communication technology enabled by emergency order." A witness could also sign the original signature pages as of the date of execution if the witness received them within 60 days. Those were emergency measures under the COVID-19 emergency proclamations, and the Governor's office states that "The last COVID-19 EP in Hawaiʻi expired on March 25, 2022." They are not current law.

Separately, since January 1, 2021 (L 2020, c 54), HRS 456-23 lets a person who must appear before a notary public do so by communication technology before a remote online notary public commissioned by the attorney general, with identity requirements and an audiovisual recording kept for no less than ten years. That notary statute does not change 560:2-502, which still requires two individuals who each witnessed the testator's signing or acknowledgment.

Changing or revoking a Hawaii will

Methods of revocation

Under HRS 560:2-507(a), a will or any part of it is revoked by:

1. "Executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency"; or
2. "Performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or part or if another individual performed the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction."

A revocatory act "includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it," and a burning, tearing or canceling counts "whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touched any of the words on the will."

A later will that does not expressly revoke an earlier one revokes it entirely "if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will" (2-507(b)). A later will that makes a complete disposition of the estate is presumed to replace the earlier will; one that does not is presumed to supplement it, so the two are read together except where they conflict. Either presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence (2-507(c)-(d)).

Under 560:2-508, "Except as provided in sections 560:2-803 and 560:2-804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or any part of it." Marriage and the birth of a child do not revoke a Hawaii will; the omitted-spouse and omitted-child rules below apply instead.

Divorce, annulment and reciprocal beneficiary relationships

Section 560:2-804 is titled "Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce or termination of reciprocal beneficiary relationship; no revocation by other changes of circumstances." It applies to a "governing instrument" executed by a divorced individual before the divorce or annulment, or by a former reciprocal beneficiary before the relationship ended. Under 2-804(b), except as provided by "the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the estate" made between the parties, the divorce, annulment or termination revokes any revocable "disposition or appointment of property" made to the former spouse or reciprocal beneficiary in a governing instrument.

The conditions in the section's text:

• What counts. "Disposition or appointment of property" includes "a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument," so the rule is not limited to wills. It reaches nonprobate transfers such as revocable trusts and beneficiary designations.
• Who and what. The revocation also reaches dispositions to a relative of the former spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, powers of appointment conferred on the former spouse, the former reciprocal beneficiary or a relative of either, and nominations of any of them "to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian" (2-804(b)(1)). "Governing instrument" includes a deed, will, trust, insurance or annuity policy, POD account, TOD security registration, pension or retirement plan, and a power of attorney (560:1-201).
• Joint tenancy. The divorce, annulment or termination severs the former spouses' or reciprocal beneficiaries' survivorship joint tenancies (and community property with right of survivorship) into tenancies in common (2-804(b)(2)); under 2-804(c), the severance does not affect a third party who acquired the property for value in good-faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship unless a writing declaring the severance was recorded in the appropriate records.
• Revocable only. A provision counts as "revocable" if the individual, at the time of the divorce or annulment, "was alone empowered, by law or under the governing instrument, to cancel the designation" in favor of the former spouse or the former spouse's relative.
• Separation is not divorce. "A decree of separation that does not terminate the marriage shall not be a divorce for purposes of this section."
• Revival. Under 2-804(e), provisions revoked solely by the section "are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment," or by re-registering the reciprocal beneficiary relationship.
• Payors. A payor or other third party is not liable for a payment or transfer made in good-faith reliance on the governing instrument before it receives written notice of the divorce, annulment or termination, mailed by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served like a summons (2-804(g)).

Federal limit on beneficiary designations. For employer plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001) that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer). Hawaii's statute adds a rule for that situation: under 2-804(h)(2), if the section is pre-empted by federal law as to a payment or other benefit, a former spouse, former reciprocal beneficiary, relative of either, or other person who received it not for value and is not entitled to it under the section "is obligated to return that payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit," to the person who would have been entitled to it had the section not been pre-empted.

Marriage and new children after the will

• Spouse or reciprocal beneficiary after the will. Under 560:2-301(a), a spouse who married the testator, or a reciprocal beneficiary who entered the relationship, after the will was made is entitled to "no less than the value of the share of the estate the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary would have received if the testator had died intestate" as to the part of the estate not devised to the testator's earlier children by another person (or their descendants). That does not apply if the will was made in contemplation of the marriage or relationship, if the will says it is to be effective notwithstanding a later marriage or relationship, or if the testator provided for the survivor outside the will intending that transfer to take the place of a will provision.
• Child born or adopted after the will. Under 560:2-302(a), if the testator had no child living when the will was made, an omitted after-born or after-adopted child receives a share equal to the child's intestate share, unless the will left all or substantially all of the estate to the child's other parent who survives and takes under the will. If the testator had living children and left them gifts, the omitted child shares in those gifts as the section describes. Neither rule applies if the will shows the omission was intentional or the testator provided for the child outside the will in lieu of a will provision (2-302(b)).

The intestate shares these sections refer to are explained on the Hawaii probate page.

The custodian's duty to deliver a will

Under HRS 560:2-516, after the testator's death and on request of an interested person, whoever has custody of the will "shall either deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate or if none is known, deposit it with an appropriate court." A person who "knowingly and wilfully fails" to do so is liable for damages, and "the court may award treble damages"; refusing after a court order is contempt.

Limits on what a Hawaii will can do

Elective share. A testator cannot simply leave out a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary. Under HRS 560:2-202(a), the survivor of a decedent who dies domiciled in Hawaii may elect "an elective-share amount equal to fifty per cent of the value of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate." The marital-property portion grows with the length of the marriage under 2-203(b), from 3 percent for a marriage of less than one year to 100 percent for 15 years or more. If the sum of the amounts specified in 2-202(b) is less than $90,000, the survivor is entitled to a supplemental elective-share amount equal to $90,000 minus that sum. The homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance are in addition to the elective share (2-202(c)).

The election is made by filing a petition in court, and mailing or delivering it to the personal representative if there is one, within nine months after the decedent's death or six months after the will is probated, whichever limitation later expires (560:2-211(a)). If the petition is filed more than nine months after death, the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others are left out of the augmented estate for computing the elective share, unless the survivor petitioned within nine months after death for an extension, gave the required notice, and elected within the extended time (2-211(a)-(b)). The right of election may be waived, wholly or partially, before or after marriage, by a written contract, agreement or waiver signed by the survivor, subject to the enforceability limits in 2-213(b) (2-213(a)). Unless it provides otherwise, a waiver of "all rights" or a complete property settlement entered into after or in anticipation of separation or divorce also renounces benefits under any will executed before it (2-213(d)).

Omitted spouse and child. Sections 2-301 and 2-302, described above, protect a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary acquired after the will and a child born or adopted after it.

No-contest clauses. Under HRS 560:2-517, "A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting proceedings."

Slayer rule. Under 560:2-803(b), "An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under this article with respect to the decedent's estate," including an intestate share, an elective share and an omitted spouse's or child's share. Under 2-803(c), the killing also revokes any revocable disposition or appointment of property made by the decedent to the killer in a governing instrument, any power of appointment conferred on the killer, and any nomination of the killer to serve as a fiduciary, including as personal representative, executor, trustee or agent.

Gifts to relatives who die first. If a devisee who is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of the testator fails to survive the testator, the devisee's surviving descendants take by representation under the substitute-gift rules in 560:2-603(b). A person who is not shown by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the testator by 120 hours is treated as having died first (560:2-702).

Contracts about wills. Under 560:2-514, a contract to make a will or devise, not to revoke one, or to die intestate, if executed after January 1, 1997, can be established only by the will's own provisions stating its material terms, an express reference in a will plus extrinsic evidence, or a writing signed by the party alleged to have breached. "The execution of a joint will or mutual wills shall not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills."

Revocable living trusts in Hawaii

The trust code and its start date

Hawaii's trust code is HRS chapter 554D, enacted by L 2021, c 32; section 554D-101 provides that it "may be cited as the Uniform Trust Code." Under 554D-1104(a), on January 1, 2022, the chapter "applies to all trusts created before, on, or after January 1, 2022," and its rules of construction or presumption apply to trust instruments executed before that date "unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent in the terms of the trust," except as the chapter otherwise provides. One exception matters most for living trusts: the revocable-by-default rule described below.

Under 554D-103, "Revocable," as applied to a trust, "means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest."

Creating a trust: no signing formality in the code

Section 554D-402(a) lists the requirements: "A trust is created only if: (1) The settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is" a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a trust for a noncharitable purpose; "and (4) The trustee has duties to perform." The section does not require witnesses or a notary.

Under 554D-407(a), "Except as required by law other than this chapter, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms, including any amendments thereto, may be established only by clear and convincing evidence."

Under 554D-601, the capacity required to create or add property to a revocable trust "is the same as that required to make a will," and unless the trust's terms alter it under 554D-602(c), the same capacity applies to amending, revoking or directing the trustee.

Revocable by default, for trusts from 2022 on

Section 554D-602(a) provides: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection shall not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before January 1, 2022."

How to revoke or amend

Under 554D-602(c), "The settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust by substantial compliance with a method provided in the terms of the trust, including requiring a higher level of capacity to amend or revoke, or, if the terms of the trust do not provide a method of amendment or revocation, by any written and signed method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent." Hawaii's text does not list a later will among the methods; where the trust provides no method, the fallback is a written and signed method.

Other rules in the same section:

• More than one settlor. Unless the terms provide otherwise, to the extent a trust holds property other than community property, each settlor may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, and the trustee must promptly notify the other settlors (554D-602(b)).
• Agents. An agent under a power of attorney may exercise the settlor's powers to revoke, amend or distribute "only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust and the power" (554D-602(e)); both documents must authorize it. See Hawaii power of attorney laws.
• Conservators. A conservator may exercise those powers "only with the approval of the court supervising the conservatorship" (554D-602(f)).
• Trustee protection. A trustee without actual knowledge that a trust was revoked or amended is not liable for acting on the assumption that it was not (554D-602(g)).

Divorce and a revocable trust

A revocable trust provision for a former spouse or reciprocal beneficiary is a governing-instrument provision covered by HRS 560:2-804, described in the divorce section above, with the same conditions: the settlor must have been alone empowered to cancel it, and the trust's express terms, a court order or a contract can provide otherwise.

Creditors

Under 554D-505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors." After the settlor's death, under 554D-505(a)(3), property of a trust that was revocable at death is subject to the settlor's creditors' claims, estate administration costs, funeral expenses and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and children "to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims, costs, expenses, and allowances," subject to the settlor's right to direct the source of payment.

Certification of trust

Under 554D-1013(a), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust" stating that the trust exists, its date and name, the settlor, the acting trustee's identity and address, the trustee's powers, "The revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke the trust," cotrustee signing authority, and, if an agent will act, that delegation is not prohibited. It must state that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in a way that makes it incorrect (554D-1013(c)), and it need not contain the dispositive terms (554D-1013(d)).

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Notice. During the settlor's lifetime, the trustee's information duties under 554D-813 are owed exclusively to the settlor (554D-813(a)). After the settlor's death, under 554D-813(c)(3), within 60 days after the trustee learns that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, "whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise," the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the identity of the settlor or settlors, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and the right to a trustee's report.

Contest deadline. Under 554D-604(a), a person may contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death "within the earlier of: (1) Five years after the settlor's death; or (2) Ninety days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding."

After the settlor's death, the trustee may distribute under the trust's terms without liability unless the trustee "has actual knowledge of a pending judicial proceeding contesting the validity of the trust," or a potential contestant notified the trustee of a possible contest and a proceeding "is commenced within sixty days after the contestant sent the notification" (554D-604(b)). A beneficiary of a trust found invalid "is liable to return any distribution received" (554D-604(c)).

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves property to the trustee of a trust. Under HRS 560:2-511(a), "A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established" during the testator's lifetime (by the testator, the testator and another person, or another person, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust) or at the testator's death by the testator's devise, "if the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument, other than a will, executed before, concurrently with, or after the execution of the testator's will," or in the will of another individual who died before the testator, "regardless of the existence, size, or character of the corpus of the trust." The devise "is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or the testator's death."

Unless the will provides otherwise, the property becomes part of the trust and is administered under its terms, including amendments made before or after the testator's death (2-511(b)), and "a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse" (2-511(c)).

Hawaii wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• Trust code (2022). HRS chapter 554D, enacted by L 2021, c 32, applies from January 1, 2022. Its revocable-by-default rule does not reach trusts created under instruments executed before that date.
• Act 158 of 2023 (L 2023, c 158). This act amended several probate code sections described on this page, including 560:2-202 and 2-203 (elective share), 2-302 (omitted children), 2-514 (contracts concerning succession) and 2-804 (divorce). The text quoted above is the current text.
• COVID-19 remote witnessing. The Attorney General's emergency rules allowing audio-visual will witnessing were COVID-era emergency measures; the last COVID-19 emergency proclamation expired March 25, 2022.
• Remote online notarization (2021). HRS 456-23, enacted by L 2020, c 54 and effective January 1, 2021, allows notarial acts for remotely located individuals; it does not change the witness rule for wills.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Hawaii will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 560:2-502, and the self-proving procedure in 2-504 is optional. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Hawaii. The tool is not legal advice.

Members of the armed forces have one federal option as well: under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, a military testamentary instrument is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Hawaii probate
• Hawaii small estate affidavit
• Hawaii power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Hawaii law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-19. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Hawaii or the probate court.

Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Hawaii?

Two. Under HRS 560:2-502(a)(3), at least two individuals must sign the will, each within a reasonable time after witnessing the testator's signing or acknowledgment. A holographic will, with the signature and material portions in the testator's handwriting, is valid without witnesses (2-502(b)).

Is a handwritten will valid in Hawaii?

Yes. A will is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting (HRS 560:2-502(b)).

Does a will have to be notarized in Hawaii?

No. Section 560:2-502 does not require a notary. A notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths is used only to make the will self-proved under 560:2-504.

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Hawaii?

Yes. Under HRS 560:2-505(b), signing by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it, including a gift to the witness.

Can I make an electronic will in Hawaii?

Hawaii has no electronic-will statute. Section 560:2-502 requires a written will, and Hawaii's electronic transactions act does not apply to laws governing the execution of wills (HRS 489E-3(b)(1)). COVID-era emergency rules on audio-visual witnessing are not current law.

Does divorce revoke a will in Hawaii?

Divorce or annulment revokes revocable gifts and appointments to the former spouse in a will made before the divorce, unless the will, a court order or a contract provides otherwise, and remarriage to the former spouse revives them (HRS 560:2-804). The same section also reaches revocable trusts and beneficiary designations, with conditions and a federal limit for ERISA plans; see the divorce section above.

Is a living trust revocable in Hawaii?

For a trust created under an instrument executed on or after January 1, 2022, yes, unless its terms expressly say it is irrevocable (HRS 554D-602(a)). That default does not apply to trusts under earlier instruments.

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Hawaii?

Within the earlier of five years after the settlor's death or 90 days after the trustee sent you a copy of the trust instrument and the notice described in HRS 554D-604(a).

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Hawaii?

A surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary of a Hawaii domiciliary may elect 50 percent of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate, which rises from 3 percent to 100 percent with the length of the marriage, plus a supplemental amount where the sum of the amounts specified in 2-202(b) is less than $90,000 (HRS 560:2-202, 2-203). The petition is due within nine months after death or six months after the will is probated, whichever is later (2-211); see the elective share section.