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Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Deced…Verified against the statute July 29, 2026

Hawaii Small Estate Affidavit

Hawaii lets the next of kin collect a deceased person’s property without opening probate when the estate is worth $100,000 or less. Here is exactly how it works, and how to use it.

Check if you qualifyHow to use it

Hawaii at a glance

Estate value limit
$100,000
Gross value
Wait after death
None
The affidavit can be used immediately
File with a court?
No
Present it directly to the bank or agency
Covers real property?
No
Real property needs the court
Notary required?
Yes
Sign in front of a notary
Who can sign
The person(s) claimed to be the "successor or…
Per the statute

Is your estate under the $100,000 limit?

Enter a rough total of what they owned in their own name alone. Leave out jointly-held accounts and anything with a named beneficiary. Those don’t count.

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The $100,000 limit, and what actually counts

Gross value of the decedent's estate located in Hawaii ("the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000"). HRS 560:3-1201(a)(1). It is a gross figure, not reduced by liens, debts, funeral expenses, or administration costs. Motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name are carved out: they "may be transferred regardless of value pursuant to this section," and the official Judiciary affidavit form computes the $100,000 as "excluding the value of motor vehicles." Only Hawaii-situs property counts toward the cap.

What doesn't count toward the limit

This is where most people wrongly rule themselves out. In Hawaii, these are left out of the calculation:

  • Liens and encumbrances on estate property
  • Vehicles, where separately excluded
  • Funeral and last-illness expenses

No waiting period

None. HRS 560:3-1201 contains no waiting period. There is no 30-day (or any other) delay after the date of death before the affidavit may be presented. The full text of subsections (a) and (b) was read verbatim from the legislature's own site; the only preconditions are (i) presentation of a death certificate, (ii) the $100,000 gross-value statement, (iii) no PR appointed or petition pending, and (iv) the successor-entitlement statement. Hawaii's version of UPC 3-1201 deliberately omits the UPC's 30-day wait. The official Judiciary affidavits (3C-E-210, 3C-E-312) likewise contain no waiting-period recital, only a 'Date of death' field. Caution for product copy: numerous secondary sources (form vendors, AI-generated state summaries, some law-firm pages) assert '30 days after death' for Hawaii. That is not in the statute and appears to be UPC boilerplate copied in error. Individual banks or brokerages may impose their own internal hold, but that is institutional policy, not Hawaii law. Practical gating item is instead obtaining a certified death certificate from the Hawaii DOH.

Who can sign the affidavit

The person(s) claimed to be the "successor or successors" of the decedent (heir under intestacy or devisee under a will), or someone signing on their behalf. HRS 560:3-1201(a) ("an affidavit made by or on behalf of the claimed successor or successors"). The affiant must state facts explaining his or her relationship to the decedent and that he or she is entitled to the property. The Department of Human Services may also file its own affidavit where it holds a Medicaid/public-assistance recovery claim under HRS 346-15 or 346-37, and a DHS affidavit has statutory priority over every other affidavit claim. No court appointment, letters, bond, or attorney is required. Where two or more people have equal standing, Hawaii Probate Rule 91 tells the asset holder to pay the first person presenting a proper affidavit.

Either. HRS 560:3-1201 does not distinguish testate from intestate estates. It speaks of the 'successor or successors' of the decedent, which under the Hawaii UPC covers both intestate heirs and devisees under a will. The affiant simply states the relationship/entitlement. The will does not have to be probated or filed with the court before the affidavit is used, and no court determination of the will's validity is needed. Independent of the affidavit, HRS 560:2-516 requires a person having custody of the will, on request of an interested person, to deliver it with reasonable promptness to someone able to secure its probate, or deposit it with the appropriate court (willful failure = damages, potentially treble; Hawaii Probate Rule 74 governs deposit of a will without probate; Rule 93 allows probate of a will without administration where there are no probate assets). Practical note: banks frequently ask to see the will where the affiant's entitlement flows from it.

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Hawaii?

Real property cannot pass under the HRS 560:3-1201 affidavit, and Hawaii has no companion 'affidavit re real property of small value' (nothing analogous to Cal. Prob. Code 13200). Section 560:3-1201 reaches only 'tangible personal property' and debts/obligations/stock/choses in action/'other intangible personal property'; the Bureau of Conveyances and the Land Court will not accept it as a conveyance. Real-property routes in Hawaii are: (1) HRS 560:3-1205, clerk-of-court administration where the decedent left property in Hawaii of total value not exceeding $100,000 and no PR has been appointed; commenced by verified petition of the clerk or any interested person; the court enters an order authorizing the clerk to act as personal representative (order may issue without notice or hearing); the clerk can sell/distribute realty, with publication and creditor claims under 560:3-1206 to 560:3-1209 (60 days for estates of $10,000 or less; 4 months if over $10,000). (2) Ordinary informal or formal probate in the circuit court. (3) Hawaii Probate Rule 73 determination-of-heirs proceeding, available only where at least five years have passed since death (see affidavitOfHeirshipNotes). (4) Pre-death planning only: a transfer on death deed under HRS ch. 527 (HRS 527-5, L 2011 c 173), with a land court petition required under 527-13(a)(1) for land-court-registered property. Also note joint tenancy/tenancy by the entirety and survivorship affidavits, which are outside the small-estate scheme.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Hawaii

  1. 1

    Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

    Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $100,000 ceiling. Gross value of the decedent's estate located in Hawaii ("the gross value of the decedent's estate in this State does not exceed $100,000"). HRS 560:3-1201(a)(1). It is a gross figure, not reduced by liens, debts, funeral expenses, or administration costs. Motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name are carved out: they "may be transferred regardless of value pursuant to this section," and the official Judiciary affidavit form computes the $100,000 as "excluding the value of motor vehicles." Only Hawaii-situs property counts toward the cap.

  2. 2

    Gather the documents

    You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

  3. 3

    Complete the affidavit

    Fill in Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (small estate affidavit) under HRS 560:3-1201, listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values, and the known debts.

  4. 4

    Sign it in front of a notary

    Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

  5. 5

    Present it to whoever holds the property

    Duty to pay/transfer: HRS 560:3-1201(a) says a person indebted to the decedent or holding the decedent's personal property 'shall make payment.. or deliver' it on presentation of a death certificate plus a conforming affidavit. It is mandatory, not discretionary. Subsection (b) adds that any person with legal authority to issue a certificate or other evidence of ownership 'shall change the registered ownership of the decedent's interest in the property from the decedent to the decedent's claimed successor or successors and shall issue a certificate or other document evidencing the ownership'. This is what obliges transfer agents and county motor vehicle offices to re-register. Safe harbor: HRS 560:3-1202 discharges and releases the paying/transferring party 'to the same extent as if that person dealt with a personal representative of the decedent,' and expressly relieves it of any duty to see to the application of the property or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit. Hawaii Probate Rule 91 extends the protection where claimants compete: the holder transfers to the first person presenting an affidavit in proper form and 'shall thereafter have no liability to any other person,' leaving later claimants to sue each other. Remedy if refused: HRS 560:3-1202 lets the successor recover the property or compel payment/delivery/transfer in a proceeding brought for that purpose, a useful citation when a mainland bank's call center balks. The Judiciary forms helpfully reprint 560:3-1202 on the reverse; point institutions to it.

Where to take the signed affidavit

The bank

Duty to pay/transfer: HRS 560:3-1201(a) says a person indebted to the decedent or holding the decedent's personal property 'shall make payment.. or deliver' it on presentation of a death certificate plus a conforming affidavit. It is mandatory, not discretionary. Subsection (b) adds that any person with legal authority to issue a certificate or other evidence of ownership 'shall change the registered ownership of the decedent's interest in the property from the decedent to the decedent's claimed successor or successors and shall issue a certificate or other document evidencing the ownership'. This is what obliges transfer agents and county motor vehicle offices to re-register. Safe harbor: HRS 560:3-1202 discharges and releases the paying/transferring party 'to the same extent as if that person dealt with a personal representative of the decedent,' and expressly relieves it of any duty to see to the application of the property or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit. Hawaii Probate Rule 91 extends the protection where claimants compete: the holder transfers to the first person presenting an affidavit in proper form and 'shall thereafter have no liability to any other person,' leaving later claimants to sue each other. Remedy if refused: HRS 560:3-1202 lets the successor recover the property or compel payment/delivery/transfer in a proceeding brought for that purpose, a useful citation when a mainland bank's call center balks. The Judiciary forms helpfully reprint 560:3-1202 on the reverse; point institutions to it.

The DMV

Motor vehicles are transferred under the same statute. HRS 560:3-1201, using the Judiciary's Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Automobile) of the Decedent, form 3C-E-312. Critically, vehicles carry no dollar limit: '(1).. except that any motor vehicles registered in the decedent's name may be transferred regardless of value pursuant to this section,' and the automobile form recites only that 'The asset sought to be transferred is a motor vehicle belonging to the decedent'. It contains no $100,000 statement at all. So a decedent's car can be re-titled by affidavit even if the rest of the estate is too large, and vehicle value is excluded when testing the $100,000 cap for other assets. Vehicle registration in Hawaii is administered by the counties, not a state DMV: Honolulu Department of Customer Services (Motor Vehicle, Licensing and Permits), Maui County Motor Vehicle & Licensing (MV-L forms), Hawaii County Vehicle Registration & Licensing, Kauai County Motor Vehicle Registration. There is no statewide DMV form number for the death transfer; counties accept the notarized 3C-E-312-style affidavit plus a certified death certificate, the Certificate of Title (often held by a lienholder), current safety inspection, and the county's standard transfer paperwork. Hawaii Probate Rule 91 commentary flags that an automobile transfer requires coordination among the financing entity holding the Certificate of Ownership, the person holding the Certificate of Registration, and the county finance department. County late-transfer fees/penalties apply on the counties' normal transfer clock, so do not sit on the paperwork.

The employer

Final wages and accrued leave can usually be claimed with the same affidavit. Ask their payroll department what they need, most have a standard process.

Debts and your personal liability

The affidavit itself imposes no duty to list, notify, or pay creditors. HRS 560:3-1201 requires only the four recitals; there is no publication, no creditor notice, and no inventory. But collecting by affidavit does not extinguish the decedent's debts or the rights of others. Under HRS 560:3-1202 the person who receives payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance 'is answerable and accountable therefor to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right', i.e., the affiant is personally exposed to a later-appointed personal representative, to creditors acting through one, and to omitted or higher-priority heirs. A false affidavit is sworn under oath and carries perjury exposure plus civil liability. The Department of Human Services' Medicaid/public-assistance recovery affidavit under HRS 346-15/346-37 has statutory priority over any family affidavit, so a decedent who received Medicaid long-term-care benefits is a material risk factor. Where debts exceed assets, the proper route is a probate or the HRS 560:3-1205 clerk administration, which pays claims in the HRS 560:3-805 priority order after published notice. Practical guidance for users: pay funeral/last-illness expenses and known debts from the collected funds before distributing, and keep records.

When you can’t use it

Hawaii takes the affidavit route off the table when:

  • Gross value of the decedent's Hawaii estate exceeds $100,000 (motor vehicles excluded from that computation). HRS 560:3-1201(a)(1)
  • An application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has already been granted in Hawaii. HRS 560:3-1201(a)(2); a pending/granted probate kills the affidavit route
  • The affiant is not a successor entitled to the property, or cannot state the qualifying relationship. HRS 560:3-1201(a)(3)(A)
  • Any need to transfer real property (fee land, leasehold, condominium, land court property): the affidavit reaches only tangible and intangible personal property and cannot convey or clear title to realty
  • Assets located outside Hawaii, the cap and the procedure are expressly limited to the decedent's estate 'in this State'
  • A Department of Human Services estate-recovery claim under HRS 346-15/346-37: DHS's affidavit takes priority over the family's affidavit
  • A contest between competing equal-priority claimants, which must be resolved in a court proceeding to determine rights to collected assets (Hawaii Probate Rule 91)
  • Assets exceeding the small-estate jurisdictional amount discovered after a clerk-administered small estate is opened must be converted to informal/formal/supervised probate (Hawaii Probate Rule 92)

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Hawaii small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. None in the last three years, and none since 2000. The current codified text of HRS 560:3-1201 on the legislature's own site carries the source note '[L 1996, c 288, pt of §1; am L 2000, c 48, §6 and c 102, §3]': no 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026 amendment. HRS 560:3-1205 likewise ends at 'am L 2000, c 48, §7' and 560:3-1211 at 'am L 2000, c 48, §8.' The $100,000 figure therefore predates all the recent multi-state small-estate inflation activity (e.g. California AB 2016 eff. 4/1/2025; Colorado and Idaho annual indexing; Alabama's 2025 CPI-indexed rewrite) and has lost substantial real value since 2000. Targeted searches for a Hawaii 2024-2026 threshold increase returned no enacted or pending bill. Nearest structural change in the broader area is the 2011 adoption of the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (HRS ch. 527, L 2011 c 173), which is planning rather than post-death collection.

  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1201 (Collection of personal property by affidavit)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1202 (Effect of affidavit; payor discharge/safe harbor)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1203 & 560:3-1204 (Small estates; summary administration procedure and closing statement by personal representative)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1205 (Estates of $100,000 or less; clerk of court to administer)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1211 (Exemption from costs; 3% clerk fee on first $100,000 of gross estate)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:2-516 (Duty of custodian of will)
  • Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act; 527-5)
  • Hawaii Probate Rule 73 (Procedure for Determination of Heirs)
  • Hawaii Probate Rule 91 (Affidavits of Collection)
  • Hawaii Probate Rule 92 (Transfer of type of proceeding)

What we're less sure about

  • Direct fetches of capitol.hawaii.gov and law.justia.com were blocked by Cloudflare; the current statutory text was obtained through a text-extraction proxy of the official capitol.hawaii.gov hrscurrent page (page timestamp January 2026) and independently corroborated against the official 2017 HRS chapter 560 PDF on data.capitol.hawaii.gov and the Judiciary's own forms. The wording and the $100,000 figure matched across all three, so the text is reliable, but I could not run a bill-tracker query on capitol.hawaii.gov for the 2026 regular session. If an act passed in spring 2026 with a mid-2026 effective date, hrscurrent might not yet reflect it. Re-verify against the 2026 session laws before launch.
  • Interaction between the $100,000 cap and the motor-vehicle carve-out is drafted ambiguously. The statute says vehicles 'may be transferred regardless of value pursuant to this section'; the official Judiciary form implements this as excluding vehicle value from the $100,000 computation. Both readings are followed in practice, but a very conservative institution could compute gross value including the vehicle. Product copy should follow the Judiciary form (exclude vehicles) while flagging the point.
  • Many secondary sources assert an eligibility requirement that the estate 'contain no real property.' The statute imposes no such express condition, real property value simply counts toward the $100,000 gross and the affidavit cannot transfer realty. Functionally the guidance is right (if there is Hawaii real estate to transfer, the affidavit is not the answer), but do not state it as a statutory element.
  • Whether an affidavit must be notarized is not spelled out in HRS 560:3-1201 beyond the word 'affidavit' (which implies an oath). Both official Judiciary forms are jurats sworn before a Hawaii notary, and institutions uniformly require notarization, so treat it as required.
  • No official statewide, all-circuit affidavit form exists. Form numbers 3C-E-210 and 3C-E-312 are Third Circuit (Hawaii Island) forms used statewide by practice; the First Circuit (Oahu) does not publish a distinct numbered small-estate affidavit on its self-help forms page. Users on other islands may encounter local variants.
  • County motor vehicle offices set their own documentary requirements, late-transfer fees, and notice-of-transfer deadlines, and these differ across Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai counties. Verify county-level requirements before generating vehicle instructions; the reported '10 days' notice-of-transfer and '30 days' late-fee figures came from secondary sources and were not confirmed against a county ordinance or an official county page (the honolulu.gov death-of-owner PDF is now a dead link).
  • Hawaii Probate Rule 73's five-year waiting period was read from the Judiciary's own September 2024 Hawaii Probate Rules PDF; the rule's release stamp is 06/04, so confirm no later amendment before relying on the five-year figure in customer-facing copy.

Kinclaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We provide self-help software and statutory forms.