Probate and Recording Deeds in Honolulu County (City and County of Honolulu, Oʻahu), Hawaii
Where to file a will or open probate, and where to record a deed, in Honolulu County (City and County of Honolulu, Oʻahu) — with the state rules that apply.
Probate court
Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Oahu) - Estate & Probate Branch
Phone: (808) 539-4399
Recording deeds
Recording fee: Regular System: $41.00 per document (up to and including 50 pages), $106.00 per document (51 pages or more); Land Court: $36.00 per document (up to 50 pages), $101.00 (51 pages or more) Fee schedule
Hawaii rules that apply
| Small estate affidavit | Yes, for personal property. A successor can collect money owed to the decedent and the decedent's personal property by giving the holder a death certificate and an affidavit stating that the gross value of the decedent's Hawaii estate does not exceed $100,000 (motor vehicles can be transferred regardless of value), that no petition for a personal representative is pending or granted in Hawaii, and that the successor is entitled to the property. The statute does not set a waiting period. Real estate is not covered by the affidavit. Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:3-1201 |
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| Probate steps | File an application for informal probate or appointment with the probate registrar (or a petition for formal probate with the circuit court); the personal representative is appointed and receives letters; notice to creditors may be published once a week for 2 weeks and mailed to known creditors; the personal representative prepares an inventory within 3 months after appointment and sends it to interested persons who request it; pays claims and expenses and distributes the estate; then closes the estate by a verified closing statement filed no earlier than 6 months after appointment, or by court order. |
| Signing and recording a deed | To be recorded, a deed must carry a certificate of acknowledgment (typically before a notary public) in the statutory form. Deeds are recorded with the State Bureau of Conveyances, or for Land Court (registered) property filed with the Land Court assistant registrar. A state conveyance tax applies, based on the consideration or value, at graduated rates starting at 10 cents per $100 for property under $600,000 (higher rates apply to some sales of condominiums or single-family homes where the buyer is not eligible for a county homeowner's exemption). Witness requirements for deeds were not confirmed. Conveyance tax rates are listed in § 247-2: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0247/HRS_0247-0002.htm Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 502-41, 247-2 |
| Transfer-on-death deed | Yes. Hawaii's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act allows a transfer on death deed. The owner must have the same capacity as needed to make a will; the deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, state that the transfer occurs at the owner's death, and be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances (or filed with the Land Court assistant registrar, for Land Court property) before the owner's death. Notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary is not required, and the deed can be revoked by a later recorded instrument (not by tearing it up). |
All Hawaii wills, probate and estate rules · Eviction court and tenant help in Honolulu County (City and County of Honolulu, Oʻahu)
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.