Small Estate Affidavit in Hawaii

Hawaii gives a family three shortcuts around a full probate case, and only one of them is an affidavit. HRS § 560:3-1201 collects personal property on a sworn affidavit and a death certificate when the gross value of the estate in Hawaii is $100,000 or less. HRS § 560:3-1205 lets the circuit court clerk administer an estate of the same size. HRS § 560:3-1203 carries no dollar figure at all.

Most pages that answer this question print one number and stop. That leaves out the part that decides most Hawaii cases: the $100,000 test counts the house, and the affidavit cannot move the house. This page describes how the sections read rather than how they apply to one estate, so confirm your figures with the estate and probate staff at the circuit court where the decedent lived, or with a licensed Hawaii attorney, before you rely on any of it.

Three Routes, One Dollar Figure Used Twice, and One With None

Here is the whole system in one view. Read the "Who runs it" column first, because it tells you whether a court case opens.

Section	What it moves	The test	Who runs it
§ 560:3-1201	Money owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, stock and other intangible personal property. Vehicles regardless of value	Gross value of the decedent's estate in Hawaii is $100,000 or less, and no personal representative is pending or appointed in Hawaii	The successor, by handing the affidavit and a death certificate to whoever holds the property. No court case
§ 560:3-1205	The estate, administered by the clerk as personal representative, including real property	Property in Hawaii of a total value not exceeding $100,000, and no personal representative appointed in Hawaii	The circuit court clerk, on a verified petition. Fee of 3 percent of the first $100,000 under § 560:3-1211
§ 560:3-1203	Nothing on its own. It lets an appointed personal representative skip creditor notice and close early	Entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the allowances plus administration, funeral and last illness costs. No dollar figure	An appointed personal representative, closing by a verified statement under § 560:3-1204

The two $100,000 figures belong to two different mechanisms. The first one lets a family skip the court. The second one puts a court officer in charge of the estate. An estate can use the first for its bank accounts and still need the second, or a full probate, for its land.

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What the $100,000 Affidavit Measures

Section 560:3-1201(a) tells anyone who owes the decedent money, or holds tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, chose in action or other intangible personal property, to pay or deliver it to the claimed successor. The successor presents a death certificate and an affidavit stating three things.

The affidavit must state	Section
The gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000, except that motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may be transferred regardless of value	560:3-1201(a)(1)
No application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in this State	560:3-1201(a)(2)
The claimed successors are entitled to the property, with their relationship to the decedent explained	560:3-1201(a)(3)(A)

Three words in that first line carry most of the weight.

Gross. Nothing comes off for a mortgage, a car loan or any other debt. A condominium worth $150,000 with a $120,000 mortgage counts as $150,000. Compare Hawaii's own § 560:3-1203, which does say "less liens and encumbrances". Section 560:3-1201 leaves those words out.
Estate. The measure is the whole estate in Hawaii, not only the personal property the affidavit collects. The section lists no asset class to leave out.
In this State. Property located outside Hawaii stays out of the count.

Two things the section does not say are just as useful. It sets no waiting period. Many summaries print a thirty-day wait, and the Hawaii section as compiled through the 2025 session contains none. It also does not require the estate to be intestate. A beneficiary named in a will signs on the same terms as an heir.

The second statement reaches only Hawaii. A petition pending in another state does not close this route, while any Hawaii application or petition to appoint a personal representative does, pending or granted.

The House Counts, but the Affidavit Cannot Move It

This is the part to slow down on. Section 560:3-1201 collects debts and personal property, and it names no way to pass title to land. Its measure is the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State, and it carves out vehicles and nothing else. Read together, a Hawaii house or condominium counts in full toward the $100,000 and still cannot be transferred by the affidavit.

Take a decedent who owned a condominium worth $90,000 and a checking account holding $20,000. The gross estate in Hawaii is $110,000. The affidavit route is closed for the checking account, even though the account alone is small, and the clerk route under § 560:3-1205 is closed too, because the property in Hawaii exceeds $100,000. That estate goes to a probate case.

Now shrink the condominium to $70,000. The gross estate is $90,000, the affidavit opens, and the successor can collect the $20,000 account with it. The condominium still needs another route: the clerk administration under § 560:3-1205, an informal or formal probate, or a transfer that already happened outside the estate, such as a transfer on death deed recorded before the death.

Counting the house is our reading of the section's plain words, because the statute does not address the question directly. If the house decides whether you qualify, ask a Hawaii attorney before you sign.

Cars Transfer Regardless of Value

Section 560:3-1201(a)(1) ends with a carve-out: any motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may be transferred regardless of value under the section. So a car worth more than $100,000 can still pass by affidavit, and its value does not count against its own transfer.

The statute does not say whether a vehicle's value counts toward the $100,000 when the same affidavit collects other property. The Third Circuit's form 3C-E-210 answers that question in its own wording: paragraph 2 has the affiant swear that the gross value of the estate in this State "(excluding the value of motor vehicles)" does not exceed $100,000. That wording comes from one circuit's form. If a car is what pushes the estate over the line, ask the circuit court before you rely on the form's reading.

The Third Circuit publishes a separate form for the car itself, 3C-E-312, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Automobile) of the Decedent. It asks for the VIN, Hawaii license number, make, model and year, and carries a notary block.

Vehicle titles in Hawaii go through the county. HRS § 286-52(f) says that on a transfer by inheritance, devise or bequest, the personal representative or successor in interest signs the certificate of ownership and files evidence of the right to transfer with the county director of finance. The commentary to Hawaii Probate Rule 91 adds that a car transfer usually needs three parties to coordinate: the financing company holding the certificate of ownership, the person holding the certificate of registration, and the county finance department. Transferring a vehicle title covers the county steps.

Who Receives the Affidavit, and What It Settles

Nothing gets filed with a court. The successor hands the affidavit and a certified death certificate to the bank, employer, transfer agent or other holder. Under § 560:3-1201(b), anyone with legal authority to issue a certificate of ownership must change the registered ownership to the successor and issue a new certificate.

Section 560:3-1202 protects the holder who pays on the affidavit. That holder is discharged as if it had dealt with a personal representative, and it does not have to check whether the affidavit is true. The person who receives the property stays answerable and accountable for it to any personal representative appointed later, or to anyone with a superior right. A holder who refuses can be compelled in a proceeding brought for that purpose.

Hawaii Probate Rule 91 settles one more question. Where more than one person has equal standing to present an affidavit, the holder transfers the asset to the first person who presents one in proper form and has no further liability. A later claimant who says they have greater priority may bring a proceeding to determine rights to the collected assets. Settling who counts as a successor before anyone signs avoids that fight.

The Third Circuit form 3C-E-210 also asks the affiant to confirm reading § 560:3-1202, which is printed on the back of the form, and it carries a notary block.

Medicaid: The State Can Use the Same Affidavit First

Section 560:3-1201 gives the Department of Human Services its own seat at this table. Where the Department has a claim against the estate under HRS § 346-15 or § 346-37, it can present the affidavit itself, and "the affidavit of the department of human services shall have priority over any other claim presented pursuant to this section."

Section 346-37(a) limits when the Department files a claim for medical assistance. It files only if the recipient was fifty-five or older when the assistance was received, or was an inpatient in a nursing facility or other medical facility, and only if there is no surviving spouse and no surviving child who is under twenty-one, blind or disabled. If your relative received Med-QUEST benefits late in life and left no spouse, expect the Department to have a claim to the same accounts.

Route Two: The Circuit Court Clerk Administers the Estate

Section 560:3-1205 is the route most summaries leave out, and it is the one that can reach Hawaii real property under $100,000. When a person dies leaving property in Hawaii of a total value not exceeding $100,000 and no personal representative has been appointed in the State, the clerk of the circuit court where the decedent lived, was domiciled or left property can obtain an order authorizing the clerk to administer the estate. The clerk or any interested person files the verified petition. The court may make the order without notice or hearing.

Once appointed, the clerk collects the property and administers it as personal representative. The notice and payout clocks depend on the estate's size.

Estate value	Notice	Creditors	Distribution
$10,000 or less	Posted at the courthouse entrance and advertised once in an English-language newspaper in the circuit, unless the court waives the newspaper notice (§ 560:3-1206(a))	Verified claims within sixty days of publication (§ 560:3-1206(a), § 560:3-1207)	After sixty days from first publication (§ 560:3-1209)
Over $10,000	The informal probate notice rules of article III, part 3 (§ 560:3-1206(b))	Claims not filed within the prescribed period are forever barred (§ 560:3-1208)	After four months from first publication (§ 560:3-1209)

The clerk pays claims in the order § 560:3-805 sets, including any allowances and exempt property the court authorizes, and distributes the rest to the persons the court finds entitled. A balance with no heir or devisee found after a year from first publication goes to the state director of finance as unclaimed property under § 560:3-1210.

The cost is set by § 560:3-1211. Clerk proceedings are free of court costs, except actual expenses such as advertising and a fee of three percent of the market value of the first $100,000 in the gross estate, paid into the state treasury. On a $60,000 estate that fee is $1,800, and it tops out at $3,000. If another personal representative ends up completing the administration, the clerk charges no fee.

Hawaii Probate Rule 92 covers an estate that turns out bigger than expected. When a personal representative finds after the case begins that the assets exceed the jurisdictional amount for a small estates proceeding, the representative petitions to move the case to informal, formal or supervised proceedings, and the reverse move is allowed too. When you need to open that full case, the Hawaii probate process walks through it.

Route Three: Summary Administration Has No Dollar Figure

Section 560:3-1203 does not avoid appointment. It shortens an administration that is already open. If the inventory and appraisal show that the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness, the personal representative may distribute right away without giving notice to creditors.

No page can compute that test for you, because half of the list is bills that arrive on their own schedule and costs the personal representative incurs. What a page can give you is the three allowance figures the statute fixes, all of which belong to a surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or to children where there is none.

Allowance	Section	Figure
Homestead allowance	560:2-402	$30,000 (split among minor and dependent children if no spouse or reciprocal beneficiary survives)
Exempt property	560:2-403	Up to $20,000 in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects
Family allowance set by the personal representative	560:2-405(a)	A lump sum up to $36,000, or up to $3,000 a month for one year

Those figures come from the 2023 amendments (L 2023, c 158). Older pages print half of them. The homestead allowance alone is $30,000, which is why a modest estate with a surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary can clear this test.

Section 560:3-1204 handles the closing. Unless the court orders otherwise, and unless the administration is supervised, the personal representative files a verified statement that the estate did not exceed that list, that it has been fully distributed, and that a copy of the statement went to every distributee and every known creditor whose claim is neither paid nor barred, with a full written account to the distributees affected. If nothing involving the personal representative is pending one year after that filing, the appointment ends.

Skipping creditor notice means giving up the notice that bars late claims, so this route suits an estate whose debts are known and small. The Hawaii personal representative's duties page covers the inventory that has to come first.

Deadlines That Do and Do Not Run

The affidavit has no deadline. Section 560:3-1201 sets no waiting period at the front and no outside limit at the back, so a family that finds a forgotten account years later can still use it, as long as nobody has asked a Hawaii court to appoint a personal representative.

Probate itself has an outer bar. HRS § 560:3-108(a) says a proceeding to probate a will and a related appointment proceeding cannot start more than five years after the death, with listed exceptions. A proceeding to adjudicate intestacy can start at any time unless there has been a prior probate proceeding, under § 560:3-108(b). So where a will needs to be proved, do not let an affidavit plan drift past that five-year line. The Hawaii probate timeline lays out the other clocks.

Planning ahead avoids all three routes. A transfer on death deed, joint ownership and beneficiary designations move property outside the estate, which keeps it out of the $100,000 count. Keeping the next estate under the line covers those tools. The step-by-step version of the collection affidavit, with thresholds and forms, sits at Hawaii small estate affidavit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate limit in Hawaii?

The affidavit route under HRS § 560:3-1201 is open when the gross value of the decedent's estate in Hawaii does not exceed $100,000. Gross means nothing comes off for a mortgage or other debt. The same $100,000 figure appears in HRS § 560:3-1205, which lets the circuit court clerk administer an estate of property in Hawaii worth $100,000 or less. A third route, summary administration under HRS § 560:3-1203, carries no dollar figure at all.

Does the Hawaii small estate affidavit cover real estate?

No. HRS § 560:3-1201 reaches money owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, chose in action or other intangible personal property. It says nothing about land. The measure it uses is the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State, with no carve-out for real property, so on the section's plain words a Hawaii house counts toward the $100,000 even though the affidavit cannot transfer it. Clerk administration under HRS § 560:3-1205 or a probate case is how the house moves.

How long do you have to wait to use a Hawaii small estate affidavit?

HRS § 560:3-1201 sets no waiting period. The affiant presents a death certificate and an affidavit stating the three things the section lists, and the section says nothing about days elapsed since the death. The thirty-day wait printed in many online summaries does not appear in the Hawaii section.

Can you use a Hawaii small estate affidavit if there is a will?

Yes. The affidavit is made by or on behalf of the claimed successor or successors, who state that they are entitled to the property and explain their relationship to the decedent. Nothing in HRS § 560:3-1201 limits the route to estates without a will. What closes it is a pending or granted application or petition to appoint a personal representative in Hawaii.

Can you transfer a car with a Hawaii small estate affidavit?

Yes, whatever the car is worth. HRS § 560:3-1201(a)(1) lets motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name transfer under the section regardless of value. The Third Circuit publishes a separate automobile affidavit, form 3C-E-312, and Hawaii Probate Rule 91's commentary says a transfer needs coordination with the lender that usually holds the certificate of ownership, the person holding the registration, and the county finance department.

What does the Hawaii circuit court clerk charge to administer a small estate?

HRS § 560:3-1211 makes clerk administration free of court costs, apart from actual expenses such as newspaper notices and a fee of three percent of the market value of the first $100,000 in the gross estate, paid to the State. On an estate worth $60,000 that fee is $1,800. No fee is charged if another personal representative ends up completing the administration.

This page describes Hawaii law broadly rather than advising on one estate. Confirm every figure and form 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 § 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 § 560:3-1202, Effect of affidavit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1202.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1203, Small estates; summary administration procedure. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1203.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1204, Small estates; closing by sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1204.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; history ends L 2000, c 48, § 7; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1205.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1206, Publication by clerk of appointment as personal representative; notice to creditors, heirs, etc. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1206.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1207, Presentation of claims of creditors. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1207.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1208, Claims barred when. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1208.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1209, Duties of clerk and distribution. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; L 1996, c 288; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1209.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1210, Undistributed proceeds or balances, disposition. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2012, c 229, § 3; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1210.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-1211, Exemption from costs. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2000, c 48, § 8; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-1211.htm
Title: HRS § 560:3-108, Probate, testacy and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limit. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2023, c 158, § 33; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0003-0108.htm
Title: HRS § 560:2-402, Homestead allowance. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2023, c 158, § 22; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0402.htm
Title: HRS § 560:2-403, Exempt property. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2023, c 158, § 23; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0403.htm
Title: HRS § 560:2-405, Source, determination, and documentation. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2023, c 158, § 24; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/HRS_0560-0002-0405.htm
Title: HRS § 346-37, Recovery of payments and costs of medical assistance. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2012, c 211, § 4; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0346/HRS_0346-0037.htm
Title: HRS § 286-52, Procedure when title or interest of vehicle transferred; delivery of certificate mandatory; complete defense. Publisher: Hawaii State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed; history ends L 2025, c 109, § 2; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0286/HRS_0286-0052.htm
Title: Hawaii Probate Rules, Rules 90, 91 and 92. Publisher: Hawaii State Judiciary. Publication Date: Effective March 1, 1995, with amendments as noted; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/hpr_ada.htm
Title: Form 3C-E-210, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent. Publisher: Hawaii State Judiciary, Third Circuit. Publication Date: RG-LC-508 (8/2014); accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/docs/form/hawaii/3CE210.pdf
Title: Form 3C-E-312, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Automobile) of the Decedent. Publisher: Hawaii State Judiciary, Third Circuit. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/docs/form/hawaii/3CE312.pdf
Title: Circuit Court Forms for Hawaii (Third Judicial Circuit). Publisher: Hawaii State Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-24. URL: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/self-help/courts/forms/hawaii/circuit_court_forms

It is not legal advice.