Hawaii Probate Timeline

A Hawaii personal representative cannot close an estate by sworn statement until six months after the original appointment (HRS 560:3-1003), and the statement has to confirm that the creditor window has expired. Where the applicant published notice to creditors, that window closes four months after the first publication (560:3-801(a), 560:3-803(a)(1)). Where nobody published or mailed a notice, it stays open until eighteen months after the death (560:3-803(a)(2)). That single choice decides whether an estate can finish in months or has to wait a year and a half.

Hawaii hears probate in the circuit court. The venue is the judicial circuit where the decedent was domiciled at death (HRS 560:3-201(a)(1)), and the court is styled by circuit under HRS 603-2: the Circuit Court of the First Circuit on Oahu, the Second Circuit for Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kalawao, the Third Circuit on the island of Hawaii, and the Fifth Circuit for Kauai and Niihau. There is no Fourth Circuit. Informal probate is granted by the registrar, a judge or a clerk the court designates in writing (560:1-307). This page explains how Hawaii law works, not how it applies to one estate. Confirm your own dates with the circuit court holding the file or with a licensed Hawaii attorney.

Four Hawaii clocks get blended together on most websites. Four months is the claim window after a published notice. Eighteen months is the fallback bar when no notice runs. Six months is the earliest date for a sworn closing statement. Five years is the outer limit for probating a will. Each one answers a different question.

Five Routes, Five Different Clocks

The route sets the duration before any fact about the family does. Hawaii puts one affidavit route outside the court, lets the clerk of the court act as personal representative for small estates, and offers summary, informal, formal and supervised administration inside a probate case.

Only the summary route escapes the creditor clock. HRS 560:3-1203 opens where it appears from the inventory and appraisal that the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and the medical and hospital expenses of the last illness. A personal representative who fits that test may distribute at once, without giving notice to creditors. The test runs off the inventory, so the fast route still waits for the inventory to exist.

The First Five Days and the First Thirty

Here is the first date. HRS 560:3-307(a) lets the registrar appoint an informal personal representative once at least 120 hours have elapsed since the death. HRS 560:3-302(a) applies the same 120 hours to informal probate of a will filed by a corporate fiduciary, a parent, a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or a descendant of a parent of the decedent.

Two exceptions add time. For a nonresident decedent, the registrar delays the appointment until thirty days after the death, unless the applicant is the personal representative appointed at the domicile or the will directs that Hawaii law govern the estate (560:3-307(a)). And an applicant outside the 560:3-302(a) list faces a longer wait under 560:3-302(b): the registrar sets a decision date, the applicant mails advance notice to the heirs and devisees under 560:3-306(b), and the registrar acts only once at least fourteen days have passed after the last mailing, with proof of the notice on file and no formal testacy petition pending.

The thirty-day duties follow the appointment. Under HRS 560:3-705, not later than thirty days after the appointment, every personal representative other than a special administrator informs the heirs and devisees of the appointment by delivery or ordinary mail. The notice names the personal representative, says whether bond was filed, and describes the court holding the papers. Missing the date is a breach of duty to those people, and the statute says it does not affect the validity of the appointment. Where an informal probate is granted and no personal representative with that duty is appointed, 560:3-306(c) puts a parallel thirty-day duty on the applicant.

Four Months of Creditor Time, If Anyone Publishes

The middle of a Hawaii probate turns on HRS 560:3-801 and 560:3-803, read together.

Publication is optional. Under 560:3-801(a), a person applying or petitioning for appointment of a personal representative, probate of a will, or a declaration of intestacy may publish a notice to creditors once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial circuit where the case is filed. The notice tells creditors to present claims no later than four months after the date of the first publication or be forever barred. Act 158 of 2023 cut the publication run from three weeks to two, and Act 7 of 2024 applied the same two weeks to a trustee's notice under 560:3-801(f). Because the applicant can publish at filing, the four months can start running before the appointment itself.

Mailed notice runs on a second clock. After appointment, 560:3-801(b) lets the personal representative mail or deliver written notice to each known creditor. That creditor's deadline is four months after the published notice, where one ran, or sixty days after the mailing, whichever is later. Subsection (c) requires the personal representative to review the decedent's records reasonably to find creditors.

Silence costs eighteen months. HRS 560:3-803(a) bars claims that arose before the death, including claims of the State, unless presented by the earlier of two dates. The first is the later of four months after first publication or sixty days after written notice. The second applies only where no notice was published or served: eighteen months after the decedent's death. The uniform act uses one year there. Hawaii chose eighteen months.

Three more dates hang off the claim window.

1. Payment. HRS 560:3-807(a) tells the personal representative to start paying allowed claims once the claim time expires, after providing for the homestead, family and support allowances, for pending claims, and for administration costs. Paying earlier without taking security for a refund exposes the personal representative to personal liability.
2. Disallowance. Under 560:3-806(a), a claimant who receives a notice of disallowance has sixty days after service to petition the court or start a proceeding, if the notice warned of the bar. Without that warning, the bar moves to eighteen months after the death.
3. Silence by the personal representative. Failing to act on a claim for sixty days after the presentation period expires counts as an allowance, and allowed claims begin bearing interest at the legal rate from that point (560:3-806(a), (e)).

Read the four-month creditor bar in full before choosing whether to publish, since that choice sets the earliest close.

The Inventory at Three Months

HRS 560:3-706 gives the personal representative three months after the appointment to prepare an inventory of the property the decedent owned at death, with the fair market value of each item as of the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance. The statute counts in months, not days, so count calendar months from the appointment date. Hawaii lets the personal representative file or mail the inventory: a copy goes to any interested person who asks, and filing the original with the court is optional under the section's last sentence. A special administrator, and a successor to a representative who already did this, are excused.

Nine Months for the Spouse or Reciprocal Beneficiary, and the Estate Tax Return

Two clocks run beside the creditor window.

A surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary who wants the elective share files a petition in the court and mails or delivers it to the personal representative within nine months after the death, or six months after the probate of the will, whichever expires later (HRS 560:2-211(a)). A petition for more time also has to be filed inside the nine months, under 560:2-211(b). Filing after nine months without an extension drops the decedent's nonprobate transfers out of the augmented estate for computing the share.

The Hawaii estate tax runs on the federal calendar. Where a Hawaii return is due, HRS 236E-9(b) requires it on or before the date Internal Revenue Code section 6075 sets for the federal estate tax return, including extensions, and 26 U.S.C. 6075(a) sets that date at nine months after the death. Under 236E-9(c) the personal representative pays the tax by the same date without waiting for an assessment. Whether a Hawaii return is due at all depends on the estate's size and on 236E-9, so read the Hawaii estate tax guide before assuming the answer.

How a Hawaii Estate Closes

Here is how the two closing doors work.

The sworn statement. HRS 560:3-1003(a) lets a personal representative close an unsupervised estate by filing a verified statement no earlier than six months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative. The statement says the personal representative determined that the time for creditor claims has expired, fully administered the estate, and sent a copy of the statement and a full written account to the distributees affected and to any creditor whose claim is neither paid nor barred. Under 560:3-1003(b), the appointment terminates one year after the statement is filed if no proceeding involving the personal representative is pending. HRS 560:3-1005 then bars claims against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty unless a proceeding starts within six months after the closing statement, except for fraud, misrepresentation or inadequate disclosure.

Put the two conditions side by side and the floor appears. Publish at filing, and the four-month bar usually expires before month six after the appointment, so the six-month rule holds the file. Never publish or serve notice, and the claim period runs to eighteen months after the death, so the sworn statement waits for that date instead. That is the practical reason most Hawaii estates publish.

The court order. HRS 560:3-1001(a) lets the personal representative petition for an order of complete settlement at any time, and lets any other interested person petition one year after the original appointment. No petition is entertained until the time for presenting pre-death claims has expired. Closing the estate covers the account that goes with either door.

What Pushes a Hawaii Estate Past a Year

1. Skipping the published notice. The eighteen-month bar of 560:3-803(a)(2) replaces the four-month bar, and the closing statement has to wait for it.
2. A will contest. HRS 560:3-108(a)(3) lets a formal proceeding to contest an informally probated will start within ninety days after receiving notice of the informal proceeding under 560:3-306, twelve months after the will was informally admitted, or thirty days after a formal order approving the accounts, whichever expires first. Read the window to contest an informally probated will for the burdens and the court's discretion where notice was never given.
3. A disallowed claim. The sixty-day petition window of 560:3-806(a) opens a separate proceeding, and the estate cannot close until it resolves or the claim is accounted for.
4. The elective share. A petition inside the 560:2-211 window keeps distribution open until the court fixes the amount.
5. A nonresident decedent. The thirty-day delay of 560:3-307(a), plus any proceeding at the domicile, adds time at the front.
6. Formal or supervised proceedings. Every step waits on a hearing and an order.
7. Real property that has to be sold. A sale adds its own months, and the closing statement waits on the distribution that follows it.

The Affidavit Route States No Waiting Period

The fastest Hawaii route skips the court. HRS 560:3-1201 lets a successor collect personal property from anyone holding it on presenting a death certificate and an affidavit that the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000, that no application or petition for a personal representative is pending or granted in Hawaii, and who is entitled. Motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may pass on the affidavit regardless of value. The section states no thirty-day wait, which many websites copy from other states.

Two details shape the timing. The measure is gross, so a mortgage does not reduce it, and Hawaii real property counts toward it while it cannot itself pass by the affidavit. And the Department of Human Services may present the same affidavit for a Medicaid claim under HRS 346-37, and its affidavit has priority. Check the faster affidavit route before opening a court file, because it never opens a probate.

Five Years to Probate a Will

HRS 560:3-108(a) bars any probate proceeding to establish a will, and the related appointment, more than five years after the death, other than an ancillary proceeding. The section lists exceptions: a formal testacy proceeding may still start after five years where newly discovered assets need administration, where the will leaves property to the decedent's revocable living trust, where every interested party entitled to notice joins the petition, or where the court finds it equitable to establish a power of appointment. Intestacy follows a different rule. Under 560:3-108(b), a proceeding to adjudicate intestacy may start at any time where no earlier probate proceeding took place, and 560:3-108(c) leaves proceedings to construe a probated will or determine heirs outside the limit.

If you are still choosing a route, read how probate works in Hawaii and the personal representative's dated duties.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does probate take in Hawaii?

The statute sets a floor, not a total. A personal representative cannot file a sworn closing statement until six months after the original appointment (HRS 560:3-1003), and the statement has to say the time for creditor claims has expired. Where the applicant published notice to creditors when filing, that four-month window usually closes before the six-month mark, so the six months binds. In our reading of the dated steps, an uncontested informal estate that publishes promptly tends to close somewhere between seven and twelve months after the appointment. That band is Settled's estimate, not a rule of law.

When are creditors cut off in a Hawaii probate?

Four months after the first publication of a notice to creditors, where the applicant or personal representative published one under HRS 560:3-801(a). A known creditor mailed a written notice under 560:3-801(b) gets the later of that date or sixty days after the mailing. Where no notice was ever published or served, HRS 560:3-803(a)(2) bars pre-death claims eighteen months after the death, not the one year of the uniform act.

Is publishing notice to creditors required in Hawaii?

No. HRS 560:3-801(a) says the applicant may publish, once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial circuit. Skipping it has a price. The creditor window then stays open until eighteen months after the death under 560:3-803(a)(2), and a sworn closing statement under 560:3-1003 has to state that the claim period has expired, so the estate cannot close that way until the eighteen months run.

How soon after a death can a Hawaii personal representative be appointed?

120 hours, which is five days. HRS 560:3-307(a) lets the registrar make an informal appointment once at least 120 hours have elapsed since the death. For a nonresident decedent the registrar delays the appointment until thirty days have elapsed, unless the applicant is the personal representative appointed at the domicile or the will directs that Hawaii law govern the estate.

Is there a deadline to probate a will in Hawaii?

Yes. HRS 560:3-108(a) bars a probate proceeding to establish a will, and the related appointment, more than five years after the death, subject to listed exceptions such as newly discovered assets or a will that pours into the decedent's revocable living trust. A proceeding to adjudicate intestacy can start at any time where no earlier probate proceeding took place (560:3-108(b)).

How long does the Hawaii small estate affidavit take?

HRS 560:3-1201 states no waiting period. A successor presents a death certificate and an affidavit that the gross value of the decedent's estate in Hawaii does not exceed $100,000, that no application or petition for a personal representative is pending or granted in Hawaii, and who is entitled. The holder of the property then pays or delivers. The route reaches personal property only, and motor vehicles may pass on it regardless of value.

Related Guides

• Hawaii Probate Guide
• Hawaii Creditor Claims
• Hawaii Executor Duties
• Hawaii Probate Accounting
• Hawaii Small Estate Affidavit
• Hawaii Will Contests
• Hawaii Estate Tax

Sources:

• Title: HRS 560:3-801, Notice to creditors. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0801.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-803, Limitations on presentation of claims. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0803.htm
• Title: Act 7, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024 (H.B. No. 1915), A Bill for an Act Relating to the Uniform Probate Code. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: April 18, 2024. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/sessionlaws/Years/SLH2024/SLH2024_Act7.pdf
• Title: HRS 560:3-705, Duty of personal representative; information to heirs and devisees. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0705.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-706, Duty of personal representative; inventory and appraisement. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0706.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-307, Informal appointment proceedings; delay in order; duty of registrar; effect of appointment. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0307.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-302, Informal probate; duty of registrar; effect of informal probate. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0302.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-306, Informal probate; notice requirements. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0306.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-806, Allowance of claims. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0806.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-807, Payment of claims. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0807.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1003, Closing estates; by sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1003.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1001, Formal proceedings terminating administration; testate or intestate; order of general protection. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1001.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1005, Limitations on proceedings against personal representative. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1005.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-108, Probate, testacy and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0108.htm
• Title: HRS 560:2-211, Proceeding for elective share; time limit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0211.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1201.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1203, Small estates; summary administration procedure. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1203.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1205, Estates of $100,000 or less; clerk of court to administer. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1205.htm
• Title: HRS 560:3-1209, Duties of clerk and distribution. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1209.htm
• Title: HRS 236E-9, Returns; time to file return and pay tax. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0236E/HRS_0236E-0009.htm
• Title: 26 U.S.C. 6075, Time for filing estate and gift tax returns. Publisher: Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section6075&num=0&edition=prelim

It is not legal advice.