Hawaii uses a statutory trustee fee scheduleHRS §§ 554D-708, 607-18Verified Sep 18, 2026View source. The schedule sets fixed percentages by trust value, so the cost is predictable. A family-member trustee often waives the fee. A professional trustee (a bank, a trust company, an attorney) typically charges 0.5% to 1.5% of trust assets a year, and a corporate fiduciary applies an annual minimum. The Hawaii trustee compensation calculator breaks it down by trust situation.

Trust administration in Hawaii is typically faster than probate because a trust needs no court supervision. The trustee can shorten the creditor-claim window to 4 monthsHRS § 560:3-801(f) (trustee/successor trustee MAY publish notice to creditors triggering a 4-month claims bar — elective safe harbor, no duty); HRS § 560:3-803(a) (probate non-claim bar explicitly binds the "decedent's trustee" — 4 months after publication / 60 days after service, else 18 months after death); HRS § 554D-505(a)(3) (trust property reachable only "to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate"). Ch. 554D Part 5 has no §508-type elective claims-bar; Hawaii places the trustee election in the probate code at § 560:3-801(f).Verified Oct 17, 2026View source by publishing Hawaii's optional notice; otherwise the general 18 monthsHRS § 560:3-801(f) (trustee/successor trustee MAY publish notice to creditors triggering a 4-month claims bar — elective safe harbor, no duty); HRS § 560:3-803(a) (probate non-claim bar explicitly binds the "decedent's trustee" — 4 months after publication / 60 days after service, else 18 months after death); HRS § 554D-505(a)(3) (trust property reachable only "to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate"). Ch. 554D Part 5 has no §508-type elective claims-bar; Hawaii places the trustee election in the probate code at § 560:3-801(f).Verified Oct 17, 2026View source period governs before final distributions are safe. A simple trust often wraps up in six to nine months; a trust holding a business interest, real property in more than one state, or one that files an estate tax return takes longer. The Hawaii trust settlement plan carries the full process.

Estate planning attorneys in Hawaii average $406Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Hawaii: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $1,218Estimate: 3 hours at $406, Clio's Hawaii Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,436Estimate: 6 hours at $406, Clio's Hawaii Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a simple individual will and $3,900Estimate: 10 hours at $390, Clio's Hawaii Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,850Estimate: 15 hours at $390, Clio's Hawaii Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the Hawaii will cost calculator sets the two side by side.

In Hawaii, estates valued at $100,000HRS § 560:3-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Affidavit for Collection of Personal PropertyHRS § 560:3-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The Hawaii probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.

In Hawaii, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; an estate near or above the Hawaii estate taxHRS § 236E-6, § 236E-8Verified Sep 15, 2026View source threshold of $5,490,000HRS § 236E-6, § 236E-8Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.

Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Hawaii

Free Hawaii forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Pour-Over Will

In Hawaii, a pour-over will is signed before 2HRS § 560:2-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Hawaii

Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Hawaii: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.

How Do I Settle a Trust?

Settling a trust in Hawaii happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeHRS Ch. 554D (Uniform Trust Code)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysHRS §§ 554D-813, 554D-1005Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.

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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?

In Hawaii, trustee compensation follows a statutory fee scheduleHRS §§ 554D-708, 607-18Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount. The schedule is an annual commission on principal.

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How Do I Settle an Estate?

Settling an estate in Hawaii: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysHRS § 560:3-706Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsHRS §§ 560:3-801, 560:3-803, 560:3-805, 560:3-806 (am L 2023, c 158; § 3-801 am L 2024, c 7)Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?

Hawaii requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040HRS § 235-51(c), § 235-2.4(a)(2)(F); Act 46 SLH 2024 (H.B. 2404)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Hawaii take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces the state's preferential capital gains rates, capped at whichever computation produces the lower taxHRS § 235-51(f) (alternative tax on net capital gain, 7.25%) with § 235-51(c) rate table for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024 (Act 46, SLH 2024)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

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