Serves Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island from downtown Honolulu. Guides personal representatives through probate filings, creditor payments, and distributions, handles small estate procedures, and advises trustees on fiduciary duties, asset management, and distribution in trust administration. Practicing in Hawaii for over 35 years.
Probate in Kauai County
Probate Court Record
Kauai County Fifth Circuit Court
Kauai County · 5th Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 7:45 AM-4:30 PM (except state holidays)
Office
Pu'uhonua Kaulike, 3970 Ka'ana Street, Lihue, HI 96766
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
How to file probate in Kauai County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Kauai County? →Settling an estate in Kauai County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Kauai County
Serves Maui County from Wailuku. Handles probate cases for the administration of a loved one's estate, and prepares wills, revocable living trusts, certifications of trust, trust amendments and restatements, deeds into trust, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. A general-practice firm whose other practice areas include bankruptcy, family law, and criminal defense.
Serves Oahu, Hawaii Island, and Maui from offices in Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Wailuku. Handles probate and trust administration, conservatorships and guardianships, and probate and trust litigation including disputed accountings and breach of fiduciary duty claims, alongside wills and trusts. Represents trustees and fiduciaries of large Hawaii dynastic trusts.
Serves clients statewide from a Honolulu office, with additional offices listed on Kauai, Maui, Hilo, and Kona. The firm guides personal representatives through probate and represents trustees in trust administration, including inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, preparing accountings and trust tax returns, and distributing to beneficiaries. A free 15-minute phone consultation is offered.
Serves clients throughout Hawaii from Harbor Court in downtown Honolulu. Handles trust, probate, and conservatorship administration and litigation, dispute resolution, and estate planning. A solo practice focused on trusts and estates since 1992; the attorney is an ACTEC Fellow and serves on the Judiciary's Uniform Probate Code and Probate Court Practices Committee.
Serves clients from a Honolulu office at 999 Bishop Street. Its trusts and estates group represents personal representatives and trustees in probate and trust administration, counsels families and fiduciaries on post-death planning such as disclaimers and tax elections, handles will and trust contests and fiduciary litigation, and represents fiduciaries in estate tax audits.
All 14 Hawaii trust administration firms serving Kauai County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Hawaii
Free Hawaii forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Hawaii.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Get Started
Free
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.
Get Started
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Hawaii
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Hawaii: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Hawaii.
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.
See the Steps
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.
Calculate the Fee
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.
See the Steps
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.
Get the Answer
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.
Calculate the Tax
