Skip to main content
Selling Inherited Property in Hawaii
Support GuideHawaii36 min read

Selling Inherited Property in Hawaii

Selling inherited Hawaii property: heirs can force court confirmation and sell at market.

By Settled Editorial

Selling inherited property in Hawaii starts with one question: who holds the power to sign a deed that a Hawaii title company will insure and the Bureau of Conveyances or the Land Court will accept. The answer depends on how the property passed, and Hawaii adds a rule most states dropped decades ago. Any single heir or devisee can demand that the circuit court confirm the sale, which turns a private listing into a posted notice, a hearing and an open overbid under HRS 531-29.

Three money figures frame the deal before you list. The seller pays the state conveyance tax, which starts at 10 cents per $100 of the full price for property under $600,000 under HRS 247-2. A seller who is not a Hawaii resident has 7.25 percent of the amount realized withheld by the buyer under HRS 235-68. And the stepped-up federal basis under 26 U.S.C. 1014 usually shrinks the taxable gain to little or nothing.

This page walks the sale in order: who signs, how a personal representative's sale runs, the court confirmation route, recording in the Regular System or the Land Court, the conveyance tax, liens that follow the land, the seller disclosure statement, a co-owner who will not sell, and the tax on the gain. If you still need to work out whether the estate has to be opened at all, start with the Hawaii probate guide.

Who Can Sign the Deed on Inherited Hawaii Property

Title moves at death. HRS 560:3-101 says that on a person's death the real and personal property devolves to the devisees under the will, or to the heirs if there is no will, subject to homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance, to the rights of creditors, to the elective share of the surviving spouse, and to administration. The rest of this section is about which route produced a signature a buyer can rely on.

A personal representative selling during administration. HRS 560:3-711 is the broadest grant in the code: until the appointment ends, a personal representative has the same power over the title to estate property that an absolute owner would have, held in trust for creditors and others interested in the estate, and that power may be exercised without notice, hearing, or order of court. HRS 560:3-715(23) spells out the sale power: sell, mortgage, or lease any real or personal property of the estate for cash, credit, or part of each. Subdivision (6) covers acquiring or disposing of an asset, including land in this or another state, at public or private sale. The opening clause of 560:3-715 sets the limits. The power applies except as restricted by the will, by an order in a formal proceeding, or by sections 531-28.5 and 531-29. Those two sections are the Hawaii twist, and the next section of this page covers them. The Hawaii executor duties guide covers the rest of the personal representative's power to sell and the duties that come with it.

A supervised personal representative. HRS 560:3-504 gives a supervised personal representative all the powers in the chapter without interim orders, except that no distribution may be made without a prior court order. Any other restriction the court orders must be endorsed on the letters of appointment, and without that endorsement it does not bind a person dealing in good faith. Hand the escrow officer a current certified copy of the letters, because that is where a title examiner looks.

An heir or devisee who received a deed of distribution. When the personal representative distributes the house in kind, HRS 560:3-907 requires an instrument or deed of distribution as evidence of the distributee's title. HRS 560:3-910 then protects a buyer or lender from that distributee: they take title free of the rights of any interested person in the estate, whether or not the distribution was proper, with no duty to ask whether the personal representative acted properly. The protection holds even where the personal representative deeded the property to themselves as distributee.

A beneficiary under a transfer on death deed, or a surviving joint owner. HRS 527-13(a)(1) transfers the property to the designated beneficiary at the owner's death, and 527-13(c) says a surviving joint owner takes by right of survivorship, in which case the transfer on death deed has no effect. The Hawaii transfer on death deed guide covers how those deeds are made and recorded, and the section on Land Court below covers the extra petition registered land needs. How to avoid probate in Hawaii puts these deeds next to trusts and joint ownership, the other ways property passes outside a probate case.

An heir holding a small estate affidavit cannot sell the house with it. HRS 560:3-1201 lets a successor collect the decedent's property by affidavit where the gross value of the estate in Hawaii does not exceed $100,000, but its text reaches debts, tangible personal property, and instruments for stock and other intangible personal property. It says nothing about land. For a small estate that does include real property, HRS 560:3-1205 lets the clerk of the circuit court be appointed on a verified petition to administer an estate of $100,000 or less as personal representative. The Hawaii small estate guide covers both routes.

Do you need probate in Hawaii?

Answer a few questions to see whether Hawaii probate is required and which process applies.

Take the 2-minute assessment

Selling During Probate: The Personal Representative's Sale

Hawaii hears probate in the circuit court of the judicial circuit where the decedent was domiciled, and the Hawaii probate court directory lists the four circuits and their estate desks. Once letters issue, most sales run as a private transaction. Here is the sequence that keeps one clean.

  1. Take possession, or decide not to. HRS 560:3-709 gives the personal representative the right to take possession or control of the decedent's property, and lets real property be left with the person presumptively entitled to it until possession is needed for administration. The same section makes the personal representative pay the taxes on the property and take the steps needed to manage, protect and preserve it. An empty house needs insurance, a lock change and someone checking the roof from the first week.
  2. Read the will and the letters. A will can restrict the sale power or require court approval of real estate sales. A court restriction on a supervised personal representative binds a good-faith buyer only if it is endorsed on the letters under 560:3-504.
  3. Ask the heirs or devisees before you list. This is the step that keeps the court out of it, and the section below explains why.
  4. Check the conflict rule before anyone in the family makes an offer. HRS 560:3-713 makes any sale to the personal representative, their spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, agent or attorney, or an entity or trust in which the personal representative has a substantial beneficial interest, voidable by any person interested in the estate who did not consent after fair disclosure. Two things cure it: the will or a contract the decedent signed expressly authorized the transaction, or the court approved it after notice to interested persons. A personal representative who wants to buy the family home should talk to a Hawaii probate attorney first.
  5. Let the buyer rely on the statute. HRS 560:3-714 protects a person who deals in good faith with a personal representative for value as if the power had been properly exercised, and says that knowingly dealing with a personal representative does not by itself require the buyer to ask whether the power exists or was properly used.
  6. Hold the net proceeds until the creditor window closes. HRS 560:3-801(a) lets the person applying for appointment or probate publish notice to creditors once a week for two successive weeks in the judicial circuit, with claims due within four months after the first publication, and 560:3-801(b) lets the personal representative mail notice to known creditors. HRS 560:3-803 bars most claims at the earlier of that date or eighteen months after the death, and the eighteen-month limit is the one that applies where no notice was published. The Hawaii creditor claims guide walks through the notice, and the Hawaii probate timeline shows where the four months falls in the whole case.

When an Heir Can Force Court Confirmation of the Sale

This is the part of selling inherited property in Hawaii that surprises families and agents from other states.

The two statutes. HRS 531-28.5 says that if required by the decedent's will, or if demanded by a devisee in a testate probate proceeding or by an heir in an intestate probate proceeding, the personal representative must petition the circuit court with the facts showing why the sale is necessary or expedient, and the court may authorize a private sale or public auction on terms it sets. HRS 531-29 carries the same trigger forward to the closing: in those cases the personal representative must obtain an order of confirmation of the sale before conveying, on proof that the price was fair and just and that the sale followed the court's authorization order. One heir's demand is enough. The statute does not require a majority.

What confirmation involves. For a private sale, 531-29 has the court require a notice of the sale posted at the courthouse of the circuit where the case is pending, and of the circuit where the property is located if different, at least fifteen days before the confirmation hearing. The notice gives the property description, the tax map key number, the proposed price and terms, any encumbrances, the hearing date and a solicitation for sealed bids. The court may also require publication twice in a newspaper in the circuit where the property sits.

The overbid. Under 531-29, if a responsible person submits a written offer before the hearing that is at least ten percent more on the first $10,000 of the price and five percent more on the rest, the court lets the original and later bidders keep bidding and confirms the sale to the highest offer acceptable to the estate. Hawaii Probate Rule 70(b) describes the first overbid as at least five percent above the initial acceptable bid, and says the personal representative alone decides whether an overbid is acceptable, so a higher price on worse terms can lose to a lower cash offer. Ask your attorney which figure the judge applies, because the statute and the rule are written differently. Rule 70(a) has bidders deliver their bid and deposit to the court clerk before the hearing.

The route around it: consent to a price. Hawaii Probate Rule 67 is the tool most personal representatives use. Where the decedent died without a will, or the will does not require court approval of real estate sales, the personal representative may notify the heirs or devisees of the plan to list and ask each of them to consent in writing to a sale at a specific price. If all of them consent, the property can be listed and sold at the approved price without the Rule 68 through 72 steps. Without that consent, the purchase contract has to say the sale and commissions may be subject to court approval, and once an acceptable offer comes in the personal representative tells the heirs or devisees its terms. If none of them demands confirmation, the sale goes forward without the Rule 69 through 72 steps. Rule 66 lets the court grant authority to offer the property for sale ex parte when every person who would take the property absent a sale joins the petition.

What the contract must say. Rule 68 lists the terms of a personal representative's contract: the property interest sold, the buyer's name and address, whether escrow will be used, the statement that the sale and broker commissions may be subject to confirmation and overbid, a statement that the property is conveyed "as is" by quitclaim or limited warranty deed, a minimum deposit of the lesser of $5,000 or the full price, and the personal representative's signature. Buyers' agents who have never handled a Hawaii estate sale will ask about the "as is" and the deed type. Show them the rule.

Fees at confirmation. Under 531-29 the court may fix the compensation of the personal representative, the attorney and the broker who produced the original offer when it confirms the sale. Rule 72(a) lets those fees be approved at the confirmation hearing and paid from escrow. Where an overbidder with a different broker wins, Rule 72(b) splits the approved commission on the original price one-half to the seller's broker, one-third to the original buyer's broker and one-sixth to the successful buyer's broker, who also takes the full commission on the overbid amount. Rule 71 makes a winning bidder who fails to close pay the escrow charges, attorney's fees and expenses the court approves, plus damages it caused.

Advertisement

Recording: Regular System or Land Court

Hawaii has no county recorder or register of deeds. Every deed is recorded in one of two statewide systems, and the title report will tell you which one holds your property.

The Regular System at the Bureau of Conveyances. HRS 502-83 requires deeds and other conveyances of Hawaii real estate to be recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances, and says an unrecorded conveyance is void as against a later good-faith purchaser for value without actual notice who records first. Record the personal representative's deed, the deed of distribution or the heir's deed promptly. HRS 502-25 leaves recording fees to rules the Department of Land and Natural Resources adopts, and the statute prints no amount, so ask your escrow company for the current figure.

The Land Court. Registered land runs on certificates of title, and the paperwork follows the certificate. HRS 501-171 has the devisees or heirs file with the assistant registrar a statement of their names, addresses and marital status, the certificate of title number, a certified copy of the letters, and either a court order determining who is entitled to distribution or a deed from the personal representative. The assistant registrar then cancels the decedent's certificate and enters a new one. Subsection (b) warns that a personal representative's instrument purporting to transfer an heir's or devisee's interest has no effect until that person's title is registered under the section.

Where the will authorizes the personal representative to sell registered land, HRS 501-173 lets the personal representative convey as if the land were registered in the representative's name, but first requires filing a certified copy of the letters and either a certified copy of the order confirming the sale or a certified copy of an affidavit filed in the circuit court, made at the time of the deed, attesting that the will does not require confirmation and that no devisee or heir has demanded it. That affidavit is where the 531-29 question shows up on the title record.

Transfer on death deeds on Land Court property need one more step. HRS 527-13(a)(1) says that for property any part of which is registered in the Land Court, a petition noting the death and asking for a new certificate of title in the beneficiary's name must be filed and processed with the Land Court before the interest transfers. A beneficiary cannot sell registered land until that certificate issues. Section 527-13(d) adds that a transfer on death deed carries no covenant or warranty of title, even if its text says otherwise, so the beneficiary's buyer will want title insurance.

The Conveyance Tax Is the Seller's Bill

Hawaii's transfer tax is a state tax, and its rate depends on the price and on who is buying.

Who pays and on what. HRS 247-1 imposes the tax on transfers of realty by deed or other instrument. HRS 247-4(a) makes the grantor, seller or other person conveying the realty pay it. HRS 247-2 measures it on the actual and full consideration paid, including any liens or encumbrances on the property at the time of sale. The rate in the bracket applies to the whole price as the statute is written.

Property valueStandard rate (247-2(1))Condo or single family home, buyer ineligible for a county homeowner's exemption (247-2(2))
Under $600,00010 cents per $10015 cents per $100
$600,000 to under $1,000,00020 cents per $10025 cents per $100
$1,000,000 to under $2,000,00030 cents per $10040 cents per $100
$2,000,000 to under $4,000,00050 cents per $10060 cents per $100
$4,000,000 to under $6,000,00070 cents per $10085 cents per $100
$6,000,000 to under $10,000,00090 cents per $100$1.10 per $100
$10,000,000 or more$1.00 per $100$1.25 per $100

Here is how that works on a real number. An inherited single family home sells for $900,000 to a buyer who will live there and qualify for the homeowner's exemption: 20 cents per $100 is $1,800. Sell the same house to an investor who does not qualify, and the second column applies: 25 cents per $100 is $2,250. The history note on 247-2 ends with L 2009, c 59, and no 2026 Act screened for this page amends chapter 247's rates.

When it is due. HRS 247-4(b) makes the tax due no later than ninety days after the transaction, and in any event before the seal is imprinted on the deed. HRS 247-6(a) requires a certificate of conveyance, stating the full consideration including liens, to be filed with the deed, and 247-6(e) says the Bureau of Conveyances or the Land Court will not accept the deed for recording until the certificate is filed.

Transfers inside the family. HRS 247-3 exempts a transfer on death deed that conforms to chapter 527 (paragraph 17), a document with consideration of $100 or less (paragraph 5), a nominal-consideration transfer between spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries, or parent and child (paragraph 4), and a partition among owners that leaves each owner's interest equal in value (paragraph 11). A deed of distribution from a personal representative to an heir carries no price, and paragraph 5 is the exemption that usually fits it. HRS 247-6(b) still requires a certificate for several exempt transfers, including one declaring why the consideration is $100 or less. The sale to an outside buyer is the taxable event.

Liens That Follow the Land

Two government claims can sit on inherited Hawaii property, and a title report will show whether either one was recorded. Order title work early.

The Hawaii estate tax lien. Hawaii has its own estate tax under chapter 236E, with an exclusion that HRS 236E-6 fixes by reference to federal law as amended as of December 21, 2017, so it does not rise with the federal amount. Our Hawaii estate tax guide covers who owes it and the rates. For a seller, three sections matter:

  • HRS 236E-15(b) makes any unpaid estate tax a lien on the gross estate for ten years from the date of death. Paragraph (2) takes the lien off any part of the gross estate transferred to a bona fide purchaser and moves it to the sale proceeds. The buyer gets clean title, and the money carries the lien.
  • HRS 236E-15(a) lets a personal representative sell property as needed to pay the tax, subject to chapter 560 and to section 531-29.
  • HRS 236E-16(a) makes a personal representative who distributes property without first paying or securing the tax personally liable for it, up to the value of the property that came into their hands. HRS 236E-12 has the Department of Taxation issue a release once the personal representative swears no tax is due or that the tax has been paid.

Medicaid liens and estate recovery. HRS 346-29.5(b) lets the Department of Human Services place a lien on the real property of a medical assistance recipient who is an inpatient in a nursing facility or similar care setting and is determined, after notice and hearing, unlikely to return home. It cannot place that lien on the home while a spouse, a minor, blind or disabled child, or a sibling with an equity interest who lived there at least a year before admission lawfully lives there. Subsection (c) has the lien recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances or filed with the Land Court, so it shows on the title report. Separately, HRS 346-37 lets the department file a claim against the estate of a recipient who was fifty-five or older when the assistance was paid, only if there is no surviving spouse and no surviving child who is under twenty-one, blind or disabled. Ask the department about any claim before you spend the proceeds.

Property that passed outside probate can still be reached. HRS 527-15 lets the estate enforce an allowed claim or a statutory allowance to a surviving spouse or child against property that passed by a transfer on death deed, to the extent the probate estate cannot pay, if the proceeding starts within eighteen months after the death. A beneficiary who sells quickly may still owe the estate.

Advertisement

The Seller Disclosure Statement on an Inherited Hawaii Home

Hawaii's mandatory seller disclosure law is chapter 508D, and its exemptions are narrower than most heirs assume.

HRS 508D-2 applies the chapter to any sale of residential real property, defined in 508D-1 as fee simple or leasehold property with one to four dwelling units, or a residential condominium or cooperative apartment used mainly as a residence. The disclosure statement covers the material facts within the seller's knowledge or control and what can be seen from visible, accessible areas.

HRS 508D-3 lists eight exempt sales. Three can matter to an estate:

  • Sale to a co-owner (paragraph 1), which covers one heir buying out the others.
  • Sale to a spouse, parent, or child of the seller (paragraph 2).
  • Sale by devise, descent, or court order (paragraph 3), which covers the heir receiving the property and may cover a sale the circuit court confirmed under 531-29. Ask your attorney before relying on it.

No paragraph names a personal representative or other fiduciary. A personal representative listing the house on the open market, or an heir who already holds title and sells to a stranger, should plan to deliver a statement. Mark what you do not know as unknown rather than guessing, because an heir who never lived in the house often knows little about it.

The timing is short. HRS 508D-5 has the seller deliver the statement within ten calendar days after accepting the purchase contract, and gives the buyer fifteen calendar days after receiving it to rescind in writing with a full refund of deposits. The parties may agree in writing to shorten or extend those periods. HRS 508D-2 says a failure to comply does not affect the validity of title, and HRS 508D-16.5 requires any action for rescission under the chapter to start before the sale is recorded.

When One Heir Will Not Sell

Hawaii gives co-owners a partition lawsuit, and for family land it adds a buyout step first.

Inside the open estate. HRS 560:3-715(6) lets the personal representative partition an estate asset, and 560:3-715(23) lets the representative sell it. While the case is open, a family disagreement about selling is usually a question for the personal representative and the probate court. Remember that any heir or devisee can force the sale into court confirmation under 531-29, which puts the price in front of a judge.

After the property is distributed. HRS 668-1 lets any joint tenant or tenant in common bring an action in the circuit court of the circuit where the property sits for partition, and for a sale if partition cannot be made without great prejudice to the owners.

The heirs property rules. HRS 668A-3(b) requires the court in every partition action to decide whether the property is heirs property, and if it is, the case runs under chapter 668A unless all co-owners agree otherwise in a record. HRS 668A-2 defines heirs property as land held in tenancy in common with no written agreement binding all co-owners on partition, where at least one co-owner acquired title from a relative, and where relatives hold 20 percent or more of the interests, or one person who inherited from a relative holds 20 percent or more, or 20 percent or more of the co-owners are relatives. Most inherited Hawaii homes held by siblings fit.

Three protections follow. After the court determines value, HRS 668A-8 gives the co-owners who did not ask for a sale forty-five days to elect to buy out those who did, at the court's value times each seller's fractional share. If no buyout happens, HRS 668A-9 has the court order partition in kind unless that would cause great prejudice to the co-owners as a group. And if a sale is ordered, HRS 668A-11 makes it an open-market sale through a Hawaii-licensed broker, at a price not lower than the determination of value, unless the court finds sealed bids or an auction would do better for the group.

Costs come out of everyone. HRS 668-17 has the plaintiff advance the costs of a partition, but charges them eventually to all parties in proportion to their interests, and lets the judge allow and apportion attorney's fees. A buyout agreed among the family before anyone files is almost always cheaper.

What Selling Inherited Property in Hawaii Costs in Tax

The federal basis reset does most of the work. Under 26 U.S.C. 1014(a), the basis of property acquired from a decedent is generally its fair market value at the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it. Gain is measured from that figure, so a sale close to the date-of-death value leaves little to tax. Get a written date-of-death appraisal. The Hawaii step-up in basis guide works through the number.

The holding period is automatically long term. 26 U.S.C. 1223(9) treats property whose basis comes from section 1014 as held for more than one year even when the heir sells within a year of the death.

Living in the house changes the math. 26 U.S.C. 121 excludes up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 on a qualifying joint return, on a home the taxpayer owned and used as a principal residence for two of the five years before the sale. An heir who moves in and stays long enough can add that exclusion to the basis reset.

Hawaii caps the rate on capital gains at 7.25 percent. HRS 235-51(f) limits the tax on a net capital gain for individuals, estates and trusts to the regular tax on the rest of the income plus 7.25 percent of the gain. 2026 Act 24 (SB3125 CD2) rewrote the ordinary brackets in 235-51(a) through (c) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, and did not amend subsection (f).

HARPTA withholding for a nonresident seller. HRS 235-68(b) makes the buyer withhold 7.25 percent of the amount realized on the sale of Hawaii real property by a nonresident person and file a return with the Department of Taxation within twenty days after the transfer. The buyer withholds from the price itself, so the amount held back often far exceeds the tax an heir with a stepped-up basis owes on the gain. Four ways out:

  • A resident seller gives the buyer an affidavit with a taxpayer identification number under 235-68(d)(1). A resident estate counts as a resident person under 235-68(a)(9), so an estate of a Hawaii decedent selling through its personal representative can use this route.
  • An individual seller who used the property as a principal residence for the year before the sale, where the amount realized does not exceed $300,000, can give the affidavit in 235-68(f).
  • A seller whose gain is not recognized under a nonrecognition provision of the Internal Revenue Code can give the affidavit in 235-68(d)(2).
  • Any seller can apply for a withholding certificate under 235-68(e), showing that no gain will be realized or that the proceeds after selling costs and liens cannot cover the withholding. With a basis reset to date-of-death value, this is often the route for a mainland heir. Apply early, because the application does not relieve the buyer of the duty to withhold until the certificate issues.

An heir who has tax withheld files a Hawaii return and gets back what exceeds the tax actually owed. Take your figures to a tax professional before you sign a listing agreement, because selling inside the estate or after distribution changes who reports the gain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Hawaii personal representative sell the house without court approval?

Usually yes. HRS 560:3-711 gives a personal representative the same power over title that an absolute owner would have, in trust for creditors and others interested in the estate, and says the power may be exercised without notice, hearing, or order of court. HRS 560:3-715(23) lists the power to sell real property of the estate for cash or credit. Two Hawaii statutes change that answer. Under HRS 531-28.5 and 531-29, the personal representative must petition the circuit court for authority to sell, and must get a court order confirming the sale before conveying, if the will requires it or if any devisee (in a testate case) or heir (in an intestate case) demands it.

Who pays the Hawaii conveyance tax when an inherited house sells?

The seller. HRS 247-4(a) puts the conveyance tax on the grantor, seller or other person conveying the realty. HRS 247-2 measures it on the actual and full consideration, including any liens on the property, at 10 cents per $100 for property valued under $600,000 and rising by bracket to $1 per $100 at $10,000,000 or more. A higher schedule, starting at 15 cents per $100, applies to a condominium or single family residence sold to a buyer who is ineligible for a county homeowner's exemption. The tax is due within ninety days after the transaction and before the seal is imprinted, and HRS 247-6(e) bars recording the deed until the certificate of conveyance is filed.

Does an heir who lives on the mainland have tax withheld when selling Hawaii property?

Usually yes. HRS 235-68(b) makes the buyer withhold 7.25 percent of the amount realized when the seller is a nonresident person and send it to the Department of Taxation within twenty days after the transfer. The withholding is a prepayment against Hawaii income tax on the gain, so the heir files a Hawaii return to settle up. A resident estate counts as a resident person under 235-68(a)(9). When the stepped-up basis means little or no gain, 235-68(e) lets the seller apply for a withholding certificate showing no gain will be realized.

Can I sell a Hawaii house that passed to me by a transfer on death deed?

Yes, once the transfer is complete. HRS 527-13(a)(1) moves the property to the designated beneficiary at the owner's death, except that for land registered in the Land Court a petition noting the death and asking for a new certificate of title must be filed and processed with the Land Court before the interest transfers. Section 527-13(b) says the beneficiary takes subject to every mortgage, lien and other interest on the property at the death, and 527-13(d) says the deed carries no warranty of title. HRS 527-15 lets the estate reach the property for allowed claims and statutory allowances the probate estate cannot pay, if it starts within eighteen months after the death.

Can an heir use the Hawaii small estate affidavit to sell a house?

No. HRS 560:3-1201 lets a successor collect personal property by affidavit where the gross value of the decedent's estate in Hawaii is $100,000 or less, and its text reaches debts, tangible personal property and intangible personal property only. It never mentions land. For an estate of $100,000 or less that includes real property, HRS 560:3-1205 lets the clerk of the circuit court be appointed to administer the estate as personal representative, and otherwise the house passes through an ordinary probate case.

What if one heir refuses to sell the Hawaii property?

Any co-owner holding as a joint tenant or tenant in common may sue for partition in the circuit court of the circuit where the property sits under HRS 668-1. When the co-owners are relatives and the property meets the heirs property definition in HRS 668A-2, chapter 668A controls. After the court determines value, co-owners who did not ask for a sale get forty-five days under HRS 668A-8 to elect to buy out the co-owners who did. If the court orders a sale, HRS 668A-11 makes it an open-market sale through a licensed broker at a price not lower than the court's determination of value, unless sealed bids or an auction would do better for the group.

Do I have to give the buyer a seller disclosure statement on an inherited Hawaii house?

Plan on it. HRS 508D-2 applies chapter 508D to any sale of residential real property, meaning one to four dwelling units or a residential condominium or cooperative apartment. HRS 508D-3(3) exempts a sale by devise, descent, or court order, which covers the heir receiving the property and may cover a court-confirmed sale. An ordinary listing by a personal representative or an heir who already holds title fits none of those words. Under HRS 508D-5 the statement goes to the buyer within ten calendar days of accepting the purchase contract, and the buyer gets fifteen calendar days to rescind.

Related Guides

Before You List

Pull a title report first. It tells you whether the property is in the Regular System or the Land Court, whether an estate tax or Medicaid lien was recorded, and who holds title of record. Then ask every heir or devisee to consent in writing to a sale at a specific price under Hawaii Probate Rule 67, because one demand for confirmation under HRS 531-29 adds a posted notice, a hearing and an overbid to the calendar. If you live outside Hawaii, apply for a HARPTA withholding certificate before closing so the buyer does not hold back 7.25 percent of the price. A Hawaii probate attorney can confirm each step for your estate.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of September 24, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Hawaii can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

All Hawaii guides← Back to all articles

More Hawaii Resources

Explore the rest of the Hawaii probate hub.

Do I need probate?5 pages
For the executor4 pages
Money and taxes5 pages
Family and inheritance5 pages
Transfer assets4 pages
File and learn5 pages