Hawaii Digital Assets After Death

Hawaii lets a personal representative, agent, trustee or conservator reach a person's online accounts under HRS chapter 556A, but only on the account holder's terms. A direction given through the provider's own online tool comes first, a will or other record comes second, and the terms of service fill the gap. Email content stays closed unless the user consented or a court orders it. Providers get 60 days to answer.

This page describes how the chapter reads rather than how it applies to one estate. Confirm any step with the estate and probate staff at the circuit court where the decedent lived, or with a licensed Hawaii attorney, before you rely on it.

What Hawaii Enacted, and When It Applies

Hawaii added chapter 556A through Act 162 of 2016. HRS § 556A-1 gives it the short title the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2016). The text tracks the revised uniform act that most states adopted, but cite the Hawaii section numbers on any request you send.

Every section carries a bracketed heading, such as [§556A-4]. That bracket is the revisor's mark for a section added without renumbering. It does not mean the section is pending or repealed.

In the compiled code, only one section has been amended since 2016. HRS § 556A-2, the definitions, carries am L 2021, c 32, §5. Act 32 of 2021 is the act that brought the Uniform Trust Code into Hawaii as chapter 554D, and the change points the definition of "court" for a trustee at the jurisdiction rule in HRS § 554D-202. The list of 2026 session laws shows no act on fiduciary access to digital assets.

Three rules in HRS § 556A-3 decide whether the chapter reaches your situation:

1. Timing does not shut anyone out. The chapter applies to a will or power of attorney signed before, on or after July 1, 2016, to a personal representative acting for someone who died before, on or after that date, to a conservatorship begun at any time, and to a trust created at any time.
2. Residence decides it. Subsection (b) applies the chapter to a custodian if the user lives in Hawaii or lived in Hawaii at death. Where the provider is based does not matter.
3. Work accounts are out. Subsection (c) excludes a digital asset of an employer used by an employee in the ordinary course of the employer's business.

The Words That Decide Every Request

HRS § 556A-2 defines twenty-seven terms. Five of them control almost every request you will make.

The line between catalogue and content runs through the whole chapter. A personal representative can usually get the list of who wrote to whom. Reading what they wrote takes consent or a court order.

The digital-asset definition is also why a bank account does not become a "digital asset" just because the statement arrives by email. The money is the underlying asset. The electronic record of it is the digital asset.

Who Decides: The Three-Tier Order

HRS § 556A-4 sets the order, and it runs from the user's most specific choice to the least specific.

1. The provider's online tool. Under subsection (a), a user can direct the custodian through its online tool to disclose, or not disclose, some or all digital assets, including message content. If the tool lets the user change or delete the direction at any time, that direction overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, power of attorney or other record.
2. A will, trust, power of attorney or other record. Under subsection (b), where the user gave no online-tool direction, or the custodian offers no tool, the user can allow or prohibit disclosure to a fiduciary in one of those documents.
3. The terms of service. Under HRS § 556A-5(c), a fiduciary's access may be changed or eliminated by the user, by federal law, or by the terms-of-service agreement if the user gave no direction under § 556A-4.

Subsection (c) of § 556A-4 adds a protection for the user. A direction under either of the first two tiers overrides a contrary term in the terms of service, unless that term required the user to act affirmatively and separately from simply accepting the terms.

Here is what that means for planning. A setting inside the provider's account can quietly cancel a sentence in your will. Check both.

HRS § 556A-5(b) caps what any fiduciary gets. The chapter gives no new or expanded rights beyond those the user held.

After a Death: What the Personal Representative Sends

A personal representative has two routes, and the documents differ on one line.

For message content, HRS § 556A-7. If the deceased user consented or a court directs disclosure, the custodian shall disclose the content to the personal representative who provides:

• A written request, in paper or electronic form
• A certified copy of the death certificate
• A certified copy of the letter of appointment, or a small estate affidavit, or a court order
• Unless the user gave the direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney or other record showing the user's consent to disclosure of content
• If the custodian asks, an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, or a court finding covering the account, compliance with federal privacy law, the user's consent, or that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate

For everything else, HRS § 556A-8. Unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise, the custodian shall disclose the catalogue and all digital assets other than content, against the same first three documents. If asked, you add an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate, or a court finding.

The difference is the consent document. For content, the letters prove who you are and a separate record proves the user agreed. Most families find the will says nothing about email, and that is when a court order under § 556A-7 becomes the route.

These requests sit alongside the rest of the personal representative's access to estate property. The duties are the same ones that apply to a house or a car.

The small estate affidavit counts

Both sections, and the termination rule in § 556A-15(g), accept a small estate affidavit in place of letters. Hawaii's affidavit is HRS § 560:3-1201. It is open when the gross value of the decedent's estate in Hawaii does not exceed $100,000 and no application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in Hawaii. The Hawaii small estate affidavit guide covers the rest of that test, including why the house counts toward the figure.

During Life: What an Agent Needs

An agent under a power of attorney uses HRS §§ 556A-9 and 556A-10, and the two sections ask for different grants.

Content needs express language. Section 556A-9 requires the custodian to disclose message content only to the extent the power of attorney expressly grants the agent authority over the content of electronic communications. The agent provides a written request, an original or copy of the power of attorney containing that express grant, a certification under penalty of perjury that the power of attorney is still in force, and, if asked, an account identifier or evidence linking the account to the principal.

Everything else follows a broader grant. Section 556A-10 opens the catalogue and non-content assets to an agent with specific authority over digital assets or general authority to act on behalf of the principal, unless the court, the principal or the power of attorney says otherwise. The paperwork is the same.

Hawaii's power of attorney statute does not fill the gap for you. HRS § 551E-31(a) lists seven acts that need an express grant, such as making a gift or changing a beneficiary designation, and digital content is not on that list. The express-grant requirement lives in § 556A-9 itself. A form that says only "all acts I could do" reaches § 556A-10 and stops short of the inbox.

If you are drafting now, see granting digital authority to an agent for the rest of the signing rules.

Trusts: Original User or Not

The trustee sections turn on who opened the account.

• The trustee is the original user. HRS § 556A-11 requires the custodian to disclose any digital asset of the account held in trust, including the catalogue and the content, unless the court or the trust provides otherwise. No document list applies.
• The trustee is not the original user, content. HRS § 556A-12 asks for a written request, a certified copy of the trust instrument that includes consent to disclosure of the content of electronic communications to the trustee, a certification under penalty of perjury that the trust exists and the trustee is currently acting, and, if asked, an account identifier or evidence linking the account to the trust.
• The trustee is not the original user, everything else. HRS § 556A-13 asks for the same documents, except the certified trust instrument need not contain the consent line.

Notice what both sections ask for: a certified copy of the trust instrument. Hawaii's trust code lets a trustee furnish a shorter certification of trust in place of the instrument under HRS § 554D-1013, but §§ 556A-12 and 556A-13 do not mention that certification. Expect a custodian to ask for the instrument. Writing a content-consent clause into the trust before it is needed is the cheap half of a trustee's access.

Conservators Need an Order That Names Digital Assets

HRS § 556A-2 defines a fiduciary as a personal representative, conservator, agent or trustee. It does not list a guardian, and no section of chapter 556A gives a guardian of the person a route to a custodian.

A conservator uses HRS § 556A-14, and it ties access to the court case rather than to letters alone.

• Subsection (a). After an opportunity for a hearing under HRS § 560:5-410 or § 560:5-414, the court may grant a conservator access to the protected person's digital assets.
• Subsection (b). Unless the court or the user directs otherwise, the custodian shall disclose the catalogue and non-content digital assets against a written request and a certified copy of the court order that gives the conservator authority over the digital assets of the protected person, plus an account identifier or linking evidence if asked. Content is not on this list.
• Subsection (c). A conservator with general authority over the protected person's assets may ask a custodian to suspend or terminate an account for good cause, with a certified copy of the order giving authority over the protected person's property.

Read subsection (b) closely. An appointment order that never mentions digital assets does not carry the proof it names. Section 560:5-410 gives the court, after hearing, all the powers over the estate and business affairs that the protected person could exercise if present and not under conservatorship. Section 560:5-414 lets a conservator or an interested person petition later to modify the powers granted. Asking for digital-asset language at the first hearing avoids a second petition.

Duties, Limits and the Computer Crime Line

HRS § 556A-15 sets the rules that travel with the access.

1. Same duties as for tangible property. Subsection (a) applies the duty of care, the duty of loyalty and the duty of confidentiality.
2. Four limits. Under subsection (b), your authority is subject to the terms of service except as § 556A-4 provides, subject to other law including copyright, limited by the scope of your duties, and may not be used to impersonate the user.
3. Property off the provider's servers. Subsection (c) gives a fiduciary over the property of a decedent, protected person, principal or settlor the right to access any digital asset that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement. Subsection (e) adds the right to access tangible personal property, such as a laptop or phone, and any digital asset stored in it.
4. Authorized user status. Subsections (d) and (e) make a fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties an authorized user for computer fraud and unauthorized access laws, including part IX of chapter 708.

That last point carries weight in Hawaii. Part IX of chapter 708 is the state's computer crime part, and HRS § 708-895.7 makes it a class C felony to knowingly access a computer, computer system or computer network without authorization. The chapter 556A protection applies to a fiduciary acting within the fiduciary's duties. It does not protect a relative who guesses a password without any appointment.

Subsection (c) matters for cryptocurrency held on a hardware wallet or a home computer. Wallet credentials stored on a device are not held by a custodian, so the fiduciary's right of access comes from the statute itself. Getting past the encryption is a separate, practical problem the statute does not solve.

What the Provider Must Do, and What It May Do

The custodian has real choices under HRS § 556A-6.

• How to disclose. Subsection (a) lets it, at its sole discretion, grant full access to the account, grant partial access sufficient for your task, or give you a copy of any digital asset the user could have accessed on the date it received the request.
• A fee. Subsection (b) allows a reasonable administrative charge.
• Deleted items. Subsection (c) says it need not disclose a digital asset the user deleted.
• Partial requests. Under subsection (d), if separating some assets from the rest would impose an undue burden, the custodian or the fiduciary can ask the court for an order limiting disclosure by date, releasing everything, releasing nothing, or sending everything to the court for review in camera.

HRS § 556A-16 sets the clock and the provider's protections.

• Sixty days. Subsection (a) requires compliance with a disclosure or termination request no later than sixty days after the custodian receives the required information. If it does not comply, you may apply to the court for an order directing compliance.
• The federal finding. Subsection (b) requires that order to contain a finding that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. § 2702.
• Notice and denial. Subsection (c) lets the custodian tell the user about the request. Subsection (d) lets it deny a request if it becomes aware of lawful access to the account after receiving your request.
• Extra orders. Subsection (e) lets a custodian require a court order that the account belongs to the protected person or principal, that there is sufficient consent, or that contains a finding another law requires.
• Immunity. Subsection (f) protects a custodian acting in good faith in compliance with the chapter.

The sixty days start when the custodian has everything the relevant section requires. An incomplete request does not start the clock.

Closing an Account

A fiduciary may ask a custodian to terminate the user's account under HRS § 556A-15(g). The request must be in writing, on paper or electronically, and include:

1. A certified copy of the death certificate, if the user died
2. A certified copy of the letter of appointment, or a small estate affidavit or court order, court order, power of attorney or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account
3. If the custodian asks, an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, or a court finding that the user had that account

Subsection (f) lets the custodian share information from the account when it is needed to terminate an account used to reach licensed digital assets.

Before you close anything, download what the estate needs. Closing an email account can cut off password resets for every other account tied to it, and § 556A-6(c) means a deleted item may never come back.

A Checklist for Hawaii Families

Next steps, in the order most families meet them:

1. Check each provider's online tool while the account holder can still use it. Under § 556A-4(a), it outranks the will.
2. Put content consent in writing. A will, trust or power of attorney that expressly allows disclosure of electronic communications content opens § 556A-7, § 556A-9 or § 556A-12 without a court order.
3. Keep a device and password list with your other estate papers. Section 556A-15(c) and (e) give the fiduciary the right to access devices, and a list makes that right usable.
4. After a death, send the catalogue request first under § 556A-8. It needs no consent document, and the list of correspondents often shows which accounts exist.
5. Track the sixty days from the date each custodian received a complete request.

For the wider planning picture, see other planning steps and the Hawaii probate guide.

Related Hawaii Guides

• Hawaii executor duties
• Hawaii power of attorney
• Hawaii trust administration
• Avoid probate in Hawaii
• Hawaii small estate affidavit
• Hawaii guardianship planning

This page describes Hawaii law broadly rather than advising on one estate. Confirm every step with the estate and probate staff at the circuit court where the decedent lived, or with a licensed Hawaii attorney, before you act on it.

Sources:

• Title: HRS § 556A-1, Short title. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0001.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-2, Definitions. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2021, c 32, § 5; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0002.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-3, Applicability. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0003.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-4, User direction for disclosure of digital assets. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0004.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-5, Terms-of-service agreement. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0005.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-6, Procedure for disclosing digital assets. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0006.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-7, Disclosure of content of electronic communications of deceased user. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0007.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-8, Disclosure of other digital assets of deceased user. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0008.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-9, Disclosure of content of electronic communications of principal. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0009.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-10, Disclosure of other digital assets of principal. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0010.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-11, Disclosure of digital assets held in trust when trustee is original user. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0011.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-12, Disclosure of contents of electronic communications held in trust when trustee not original user. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0012.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-13, Disclosure of other digital assets held in trust when trustee not original user. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0013.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-14, Disclosure of digital assets to conservator of protected person. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0014.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-15, Fiduciary duty and authority. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0015.htm
• Title: HRS § 556A-16, Custodian compliance and immunity. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2016, c 162, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0556A/HRS_0556A-0016.htm
• Title: HRS § 560:3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2000, c 48, § 6 and c 102, § 3; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1201.htm
• Title: HRS § 560:5-410, Powers of court. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2004, c 161, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0005-0410.htm
• Title: HRS § 560:5-414, Petition for order subsequent to appointment. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2004, c 161, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0005-0414.htm
• Title: HRS § 551E-31, Authority that requires specific grant; grant of general authority. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2014, c 22, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0551E/HRS_0551E-0031.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-1013, Certification of trust. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 2021, c 32, pt of § 2; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0554D/HRS_0554D-1013.htm
• Title: HRS § 708-895.7, Unauthorized computer access in the third degree. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2012, c 293, § 6; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0708/HRS_0708-0895_0007.htm

It is not legal advice.