Hawaii Pet Trust

A Hawaii pet trust is valid. HRS § 554D-408 says a trust for the care of one or more designated domestic or pet animals shall be valid, and it runs until no living animal it covers is left. Hawaii sets no dollar cap and no fixed term. Three decisions settle whether it works: who enforces it, how much you put in, and what you pay the trustee.

That third one is where Hawaii differs from most states. Its default trustee fee schedule carries a $3,000 yearly minimum, and a pet trust that says nothing about pay can lose a large share of its fund to it. Every section quoted below was read on September 24, 2026 at the Hawaii State Legislature's statute site, including the history note each section prints. The compiled code runs through the 2025 session, and none of the 2026 session's Acts touches chapter 554D, chapter 525 or § 607-18. This page states Hawaii law rather than the terms of one document. Read yours first, then take anything with money attached to a licensed Hawaii attorney.

A pet trust is almost always a clause inside putting the pet trust inside a living trust or a will rather than a document of its own, so read this page beside the other planning documents.

Which Hawaii Law Governs, and Since When

Hawaii's pet-trust rule lives in chapter 554D, which § 554D-101 names the Uniform Trust Code. The legislature enacted it as Act 32 of 2021, and every section cited on this page carries the same one-line history note: L 2021, c 32, pt of § 2. No later Act has amended § 554D-408.

Two older sources still circulate and both are wrong for Hawaii today. Chapter 554 holds older trust-estate law, and the Uniform Probate Code's trust article in chapter 560, sections 560:7-101 through 560:7-501, is repealed. The Legislature's own directory for chapter 560 no longer carries a file for 560:7-501. A document or web page that cites either one for a pet trust is citing law that no longer governs.

Section 554D-1104(a) sets the reach. On January 1, 2022 the chapter began to apply to all trusts created before, on, or after that date, and any rule of construction in it applies to trust instruments signed before that date unless the terms clearly say otherwise. So an older Hawaii pet clause now reads under § 554D-408.

What HRS 554D-408 Says

Subsection (a) does three things. It makes the trust valid. It ends the trust when no living animal is covered. And it tells the court how to read your words: the governing instrument is liberally construed to bring the transfer within the section, to presume against the precatory or honorary nature of the gift, and to carry out your general intent, with extrinsic evidence admissible to show that intent.

Here is why that matters. A will that says "I leave $15,000 to my sister for the care of my dog Koa" could once be read as a wish the sister was free to ignore. Hawaii tells the court to presume the opposite and to treat it as a trust where it can.

Subsection (b) then lists seven rules. In plain terms:

1. Money stays with the animal. Unless the document expressly says otherwise, no principal or income may go to the trustee's own use or to a use contrary to the trust's purposes.
2. Leftover money follows a fixed order. The trust instrument first, then the residuary clause of your will if the pet trust sits in a non-residuary clause, then your heirs.
3. Someone can enforce it. A person named in the terms, or one the court appoints.
4. Paperwork is light by default. No filing, report, registration, periodic accounting, separate maintenance of funds, appointment or fee is required just because a trustee exists, unless the court orders it or the document requires it.
5. A court can trim an oversized gift. The reduction passes as leftover property under rule 2.
6. The court fills an empty trustee seat. It names a trustee when none is designated or willing, and it may move the property to another trustee when needed.
7. No perpetuities clock. The trust is exempt from chapter 525.

Hawaii Does Not Require the Animal To Be Alive During Your Life

The uniform model many states copied limits a pet trust to an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime. Hawaii's text does not. Section 554D-408(a) covers "one or more designated domestic or pet animals" and ends the trust "when no living animal is covered by the trust." It sets no lifetime condition.

The word that does the work is "designated." Name each animal, or describe a class you can identify later, such as the dogs living in my household at my death. A vague clause invites the fight the liberal-construction rule exists to settle, and you can avoid that fight by writing clearly.

No Perpetuities Clock and No Twenty-One-Year Cap

Hawaii's general rule against perpetuities sits in HRS § 525-1. A nonvested interest is valid if it vests or ends within twenty-one years after the death of someone then alive, or within ninety years after its creation. Section 554D-408(b)(7) takes a pet trust out of chapter 525 entirely.

The twenty-one-year limit many readers expect comes from the uniform model's purpose-trust section. Hawaii's version, § 554D-409, has none. It lets a trust exist for a noncharitable purpose with no definite beneficiary, enforced by a person named in the terms or appointed by the court, and it opens with the words "Except as otherwise provided in section 554D-408," so the animal section controls wherever the two overlap. A tortoise or a macaw that outlives its owner by forty years stays covered.

The Enforcer Is the Job Most Documents Leave Blank

An animal cannot sue a trustee who stops paying the vet. So § 554D-408(b)(3) lets the trust be enforced by a person appointed in its terms, or, if nobody is appointed, by a person the court appoints. A person having an interest in the welfare of the animal may ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one already appointed.

Section 554D-110(b) gives the role real standing. A person appointed to enforce a trust for the care of an animal has the rights of a qualified beneficiary under chapter 554D. Two of those rights matter here:

• A copy of the document. After the settlor's death, § 554D-813(c)(1) requires the trustee to hand over a copy of the trust instrument promptly to a qualified beneficiary who asks.
• Removal of the trustee. For an irrevocable trust, § 554D-706(a) lets a qualified beneficiary ask the court to remove a trustee, and § 554D-706(c) lists the grounds, including a serious breach of trust or a persistent failure to administer the trust effectively.

Next steps: name three different people. The caretaker houses and feeds the animal. The trustee holds and pays out the money. The enforcer checks that both are doing their jobs. One person can hold two roles, but a caretaker who is also the trustee is supervising their own spending, and that is the gap an enforcer exists to close.

Because § 554D-408(b)(4) lifts the default reporting duties, write the reporting you want into the trust. A yearly note to the enforcer with a photo of the animal, the vet's name and the year's spending costs little and gives the enforcer something to check.

The Trustee Fee Default Can Swallow a Small Fund

This is the Hawaii rule most pet-trust pages miss. Section 554D-708(a) says a trustee's compensation shall be as set forth in HRS §§ 607-18 and 607-20. Section 607-20 covers charitable trusts. Section 607-18 covers the rest.

Under § 607-18(a), unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, or the settlor and trustee agree otherwise, or after the settlor's death all the beneficiaries and the trustee agree otherwise, the trustee is entitled to the statutory compensation, and that compensation is deemed reasonable. For an individual trustee, § 607-18(c) sets:

Let's break it down with a $20,000 pet trust. One-half of 1 percent of $20,000 is $100 a year, but the $3,000 minimum overrides it. That is fifteen percent of the fund in year one, before the dog eats anything. A bank or trust company is paid under its published fee schedule instead, under § 607-18(b).

Two drafting points follow from the text itself:

• Say what the trustee gets. A flat yearly figure, a percentage, or no pay at all. Section 554D-105(b)(7) still lets the court adjust a term that is unreasonably low or high, so pick a number you can defend.
• Avoid the stock phrases. Section 607-18(e) says "reasonable compensation", "compensation in accordance with applicable law", "compensation", "reasonable compensation commensurate with the services performed" and "statutory compensation" in a trust all authorize the statutory schedule. Those words switch the $3,000 minimum back on.

One more reason to write it down. Section 554D-408(b)(1) bars converting principal or income to the trustee's use unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise, and chapter 554D does not say how that bar and the § 607-18 schedule fit together. A clear pay term in the document removes the question.

How Much To Put In, and the Rule That Trims Too Much

Hawaii caps nothing on the way in. Section 554D-408(b)(5) gives the court one tool on the way out: it may reduce the property transferred if the amount far exceeds what the intended use requires and the cut would not harm the animal's care, maintenance, health, or appearance. Whatever the court trims passes as leftover property under the remainder order.

So build the figure from real numbers:

1. Yearly food, veterinary care, medication, grooming, insurance and boarding.
2. Times a remaining life you can defend for that species and age.
3. Plus the trustee's pay under your document, or under § 607-18 if you leave it out.
4. Plus a margin for one large vet bill.

Write the arithmetic into the trust or a side letter. A trustee, an enforcer and a judge can all check a figure that comes with its workings.

A Hawaii Trustee Can Close a Small Trust

Section 554D-414(a) lets the trustee of a trust holding property worth less than $100,000 terminate it, after notice to the qualified beneficiaries, if the trustee concludes the value is too small to justify the cost of administration. A pet trust funded for one dog or cat will usually sit below that line. Section 554D-414(c) then requires the trustee to distribute the property in a way consistent with the trust's purposes, which for a pet trust points toward the animal's care.

The terms of a trust generally prevail over chapter 554D under § 554D-105(a). The list of rules the terms cannot override, in § 554D-105(b), includes the court's power to modify or terminate a trust under §§ 554D-410 through 554D-416, but not the trustee's own power under § 554D-414(a). So a document can say the trustee may not end the trust early for cost reasons, while the court keeps its separate power under § 554D-414(b).

Bond Is Off by Default

Section 554D-702(a) requires a trustee's bond only if the court finds one is needed to protect the beneficiaries, or the terms require one and the court has not dispensed with it. Subsection (c) excuses a bank or trust company qualified under chapter 412 even when the terms ask for bond. For a small pet trust, a bond premium is one more cost against the fund. Leave it out unless you have a reason.

Which Court, and Where

HRS § 554D-103 defines "court" as the circuit court having jurisdiction over trust matters. Section 554D-203(a) gives that court exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings about the administration of a trust. Hawaii has four judicial circuits, and the Hawaii court directory lists them.

Venue under § 554D-204(a) is the judicial circuit where the trust's principal place of administration is or will be. If the trust sits in a will and the estate is still open, venue is the circuit administering the estate. When a trust has no trustee, § 554D-204(b) lets a petition to appoint one go to a circuit where a beneficiary lives, where trust property is, where the estate was administered, or where the nominated trustee lives or does business.

Where the Pet Trust Lives in Your Plan

Section 554D-401 lists four ways a Hawaii trust comes into being: a transfer of property to a trustee during your life or by will or another transfer at death; a declaration that you hold identifiable property as trustee; the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee; or a court order under its statutory or equitable powers. Section 554D-402(a)(3)(B) then excuses an animal trust from the usual need for a definite beneficiary.

Timing is the reason to choose. A pet trust inside a revocable trust you funded while alive is ready the day you die. A pet trust written into a will waits until the court admits the will and a personal representative distributes the money. Keeping assets out of probate usually means houses and accounts. Here it means a dog that needs feeding next week.

The animal usually needs a new home before the money arrives. HRS § 560:2-513 lets a will refer to a separate signed list disposing of tangible personal property not otherwise given away by the will, other than money. The list has to describe the items and the recipients with reasonable certainty, and you can write or change it after signing the will. It cannot carry cash, so the trust still funds the care. For certainty, name the caretaker in the will or trust itself as well. See Hawaii will requirements for the signing rules the will has to meet.

Two more documents close the gap between a hospital stay and a death. A Hawaii power of attorney can let an agent pay for the animal's care while you are alive and unable to act. And the Hawaii executor duties guide covers what the personal representative does before any trust money moves.

Where the Leftover Money Goes

Section 554D-408(b)(2) fixes the order when the last covered animal dies:

1. As directed in the trust instrument.
2. Under your will's residuary clause, if the instrument says nothing and the pet trust was created in a non-residuary clause of your will.
3. To your heirs, determined under HRS § 560:2-711, if neither step produces a taker.

Section 560:2-711 sends the property to the people who would inherit from you under the intestacy law of your domicile, as if you had died when the gift takes effect. It also excludes a surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary who has remarried or ended the relationship by then. See Hawaii intestate succession for how those shares split. Most owners would rather choose, so name the remainder taker, whether a relative, a friend, or an animal rescue.

What To Put in the Document

A working Hawaii pet trust clause covers each of these:

1. The animals. Names, species, and identifying marks or microchip numbers, or a clear class definition.
2. The caretaker and a backup. Plus what happens if neither can take the animal.
3. The trustee and a successor. If none will serve, § 554D-408(b)(6) sends the choice to the court.
4. The enforcer. By name, with a backup.
5. The trustee's pay. A stated figure or method, so § 607-18's $3,000 minimum does not apply by default.
6. The standard of care. Diet, vet, boarding, and end-of-life wishes.
7. Reporting. What the trustee sends the enforcer and how often.
8. The funding figure and its workings.
9. The remainder taker.

When To Bring In a Hawaii Attorney

Bring one in when the fund is large, when the animal is long-lived, when family members disagree about who takes the animal, or when you want the pet trust coordinated with a revocable trust and your Hawaii estate tax picture. A short conversation about the pay term alone can save a small trust thousands of dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are pet trusts legal in Hawaii?

Yes. HRS § 554D-408(a) says a trust for the care of one or more designated domestic or pet animals shall be valid, and it ends when no living animal is covered by the trust. The section came in with Hawaii's Uniform Trust Code, Act 32 of the 2021 session, and HRS § 554D-1104 applies that code to trusts created before, on, or after January 1, 2022. The older pet-trust rule in the Uniform Probate Code, article VII of chapter 560, is repealed, so cite chapter 554D.

How long can a Hawaii pet trust last?

For as long as a covered animal is alive. HRS § 554D-408(b)(7) exempts the trust from chapter 525, the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities, whose § 525-1 otherwise lets a nonvested interest wait up to ninety years. Hawaii's § 554D-409, the general rule for purpose trusts, carries no twenty-one-year cap either. A trust for a parrot or a horse that outlives its owner by decades stays valid the whole way.

Who enforces a Hawaii pet trust?

A person appointed in the terms of the trust, or one the court appoints if the document names nobody, under HRS § 554D-408(b)(3). Anyone with an interest in the animal's welfare may ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one. Section 554D-110(b) gives that enforcer the rights of a qualified beneficiary under the whole chapter, which includes the right to ask the court to remove the trustee under § 554D-706(a).

How much money can you leave a Hawaii pet trust?

Hawaii sets no cap on funding. HRS § 554D-408(b)(5) lets the court reduce the amount when it far exceeds what the intended use requires and the cut would cause no serious harm to the animal's care, maintenance, health, or appearance. Build the figure from yearly food, veterinary care, medication, grooming and boarding, times a remaining life you can defend, plus whatever you agree to pay the trustee.

What does a Hawaii pet trust trustee get paid?

Whatever the document says. HRS § 554D-708(a) points to HRS § 607-18, and unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, an individual trustee is entitled to a statutory schedule that includes a minimum total annual compensation of $3,000. On a $20,000 pet trust that is fifteen percent of the fund in the first year. Section 607-18(e) says words like reasonable compensation in a trust authorize the statutory schedule, so name a figure or a method instead.

What happens to the money left over when the animal dies?

HRS § 554D-408(b)(2) sets the order. The trustee transfers what is left as the trust instrument directs. If it says nothing and the trust sits in a non-residuary clause of a will, the money passes under the will's residuary clause. If neither produces a taker, it goes to your heirs as determined under HRS § 560:2-711. Name the remainder taker yourself.

Can a Hawaii trustee shut down a small pet trust?

Yes. HRS § 554D-414(a) lets the trustee of a trust holding less than $100,000 terminate it, after notice to the qualified beneficiaries, if the trustee concludes the value is too small to justify the cost of administration. Section 554D-414(c) then requires a distribution consistent with the trust's purposes. The court's own power to end an uneconomic trust under § 554D-414(b) survives any contrary term under § 554D-105(b)(4).

Which court handles a Hawaii pet trust?

The circuit court. HRS § 554D-103 defines the court as the circuit court having jurisdiction over trust matters, and § 554D-203(a) gives it exclusive jurisdiction over trust administration. Venue under § 554D-204(a) is the judicial circuit where the trust's principal place of administration is, or, for a trust in a will whose estate is still open, the circuit administering the estate.

Related Hawaii Guides

• Hawaii revocable living trust
• Hawaii estate planning
• Hawaii trust administration
• Hawaii will requirements
• Avoid probate in Hawaii
• Hawaii power of attorney

This page describes Hawaii law broadly rather than advising on one trust. Confirm every step with a licensed Hawaii attorney before you sign or act on it.

Sources:

• Title: HRS § 554D-408, Trust for care of animal. 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-0408.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-409, Noncharitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary. 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-0409.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-101, Short title. 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-0101.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-103, Definitions. 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-0103.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-105, Default and mandatory rules. 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-0105.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-110, Others treated as qualified beneficiaries. 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-0110.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-203, Subject matter jurisdiction. 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-0203.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-204, Venue. 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-0204.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-401, Methods of creating 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-0401.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-402, Requirements for creation. 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-0402.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-414, Modification or termination of uneconomic 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-0414.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-702, Trustee's bond. 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-0702.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-706, Removal of trustee. 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-0706.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-708, Compensation of trustee. 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-0708.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-813, Duty to inform and report. 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-0813.htm
• Title: HRS § 554D-1104, Application to existing relationships. 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-1104.htm
• Title: HRS § 607-18, Compensation of trustees. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2015, c 133, § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0607/HRS_0607-0018.htm
• Title: HRS § 525-1, Statutory rule against perpetuities. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1992, c 262, pt of § 2; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0525/HRS_0525-0001.htm
• Title: HRS § 560:2-711, Interest in "heirs" and like. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 1997, c 383, § 16; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0711.htm
• Title: HRS § 560:2-513, Separate writing identifying devise of certain types of tangible personal property. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288, pt of § 1; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0513.htm

It is not legal advice.