Hawaii Small Estate Affidavit: The $100,000 Ceiling

General information, not legal advice. Hawaii's circuit court rules and probate procedures are detailed, and property values often push estates past the threshold. Confirm your situation before relying on this.

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How the affidavit works here

Hawaii adopted the Uniform Probate Code, and HRS 560:3-1201 provides the collection route. The affidavit states that the gross value of the decedent's estate in the state does not exceed $100,000, that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in Hawaii, and that the claiming successors are entitled to the property, explaining their relationship to the decedent. You sign under oath before a notary, then present it with a certified copy of the death certificate to the bank or other holder, which transfers the property. No court filing is involved, and pro se filing is the norm for small estate affidavits even though most personal representatives in fuller probates retain counsel.

Vehicles do not count at all

The statute carves motor vehicles out twice over. They are excluded from the gross value used to test the $100,000 threshold, and they may be transferred under the section regardless of value. So a family with $95,000 in accounts and a truck worth $40,000 still qualifies, and the truck moves on the same authority. Hawaii publishes a separate Motor Vehicle Small Estate Affidavit for that purpose, which also requires notarization. When you tally the estate to decide whether the shortcut is available, set the registered vehicles aside first and measure only what remains.

Real property is what usually stops people

The affidavit is unavailable where real property requires a court-ordered title transfer, and this is the practical brake in Hawaii more than the dollar figure. Median property values mean that any solely titled home almost always triggers probate, and the threshold itself is statutory and does not adjust for inflation, so it has been eroding in real terms for years while property prices climbed. Families who planned ahead avoid the problem entirely: revocable living trusts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, beneficiary designations, transfer-on-death deeds under HRS 527, and transfer-on-death vehicle and securities registrations all bypass probate.

Two things that outrank the family

Hawaii writes in two provisions that shift control away from the heirs. First, where the Department of Human Services has a claim against the estate for benefits it provided, the department may present its own affidavit, and that affidavit has priority over any other claim presented under this section. Second, section 560:3-1205 allows the clerk of the circuit court, on a verified petition by the clerk or any interested person, to be authorized to administer an estate not exceeding $100,000 as personal representative, and the order may be made without notice or hearing at the court's discretion. That is a useful fallback where no family member is willing or able to act.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on HRS 560:3-1201 and 560:3-1205 and the Hawaii Uniform Probate Code. Confirm requirements with the circuit court.