{"id":372900,"date":"2016-04-11T01:22:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-11T06:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/hawaii-law\/hawaii-probate-and-estate-tax-laws.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T05:00:00","slug":"hawaii-probate-and-estate-tax-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/hawaii-law\/hawaii-probate-and-estate-tax-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Probate and Estate Tax Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n

Hawaii Probate and Estate Tax Laws<\/h1>\n
\n
\n

Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

The legal process by which property is transferred upon a person’s death is called "probate<\/a>." This court-supervised process involves collecting all of a deceased person’s property into an estate. Next, the estate pays off debts and applicable taxes. The remaining estate is then distributed to the deceased’s heirs. The probate process is state specific with each state implementing its own probate laws.<\/p>\r\n

Several states, including Hawaii, have adopted the Uniform Probate Code<\/a> (UPC) as their probate law. The UPC was created to streamline the probate process and to standardize it across all 50 states. However, only 16 states have adopted the UPC in full, while other states have adopted only parts of the code. This article highlights several main aspects of the probate process in Hawaii.<\/p>\r\n

Probate in Hawaii<\/h2>\r\n

During the probate process the court will attempt to distribute the deceased’s estate according to the will if the deceased dies testate<\/a> (with a valid will). However, if the deceased dies intestate<\/a> (without a valid will) then the deceased’s property will be distributed according to the intestate laws of succession outlined in the charts below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Code Section <\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 560:2-102<\/a>: Share of Spouse<\/b><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>

What Does the Deceased’s Surviving Spouse Receive? <\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

The intestate share of a deceased’s surviving spouse (or reciprocal beneficiary) is:<\/p>\r\n

The entire estate if:<\/p>\r\n