What to do when a Bank of Hawaii account holder dies
Contact Bank of Hawaii's The Private Bank — 8-step process, 6 required documents, and notification is immediate by phone; the account settlement happens at a branch appointment. bank of hawaii's own survivor guide warns that the overall estate settlement process can take 12 months or longer. accounts with a named pod beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a successor trustee settle fastest, since no court paperwork is needed.
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, per DDA-721 Section B.9); headquarters at 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
The Private Bank
Bank of Hawaii, The Private Bank, 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118
Bank of Hawaii, Deposit Operations #118, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846
What happens to Bank of Hawaii accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Bank of Hawaii's Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118 (1-808-643-3888) to claim the funds.
Bank of Hawaii offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Bank of Hawaii requires:
Filing a claim
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID
- Documents confirming your authority over the account: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration issued by a probate court, or the full trust agreement with all amendments
- Joint account: on evidence of death in the form of a death certificate, the balance automatically passes to the surviving owner(s), who continue as joint owners or as an individual owner
- Voluntary Trust (Totten Trust) — Bank of Hawaii's POD structure: the named beneficiary is entitled to the funds once every owner/trustee has died, and claims with a death certificate and ID
- Fiduciary Account (revocable living trust): the successor trustee presents a copy of the full trust agreement with every amendment and the death certificate; the bank's guide says all designated successor trustees should be present
- Probate: the personal representative submits Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Small estate: if the decedent's Hawaii estate totals $100,000 or less and includes no real estate, and no personal representative has been appointed, accounts may be closed with a properly executed Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1201)
- Investment account or Investment IRA: claim through Bankoh Advisors at 808-694-8500 — those are custodied by Cetera Investment Services, not the bank
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (passport, driver's license, or state-issued ID)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if probate is required)
- Full trust agreement plus every amendment (if the account is held in a trust)
- Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1201, when the Hawaii estate is $100,000 or less with no real estate and no personal representative has been appointed)
- Proof of relationship to the deceased
What to know at this institution
There is no Bank of Hawaii death-claim form, claims portal, or claims email — the bank publishes a "Steps After Losing a Loved One" article and the downloadable "When a Loved One Passes" survivor guide (form AD-790_E, June 2024), and everything else is handled by a banker in person. Deposit-account correspondence goes to Bank of Hawaii, Deposit Operations #118, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (DDA-721 Sections B.6 and B.9). Contract terms an executor should know, all from DDA-721: the bank may act as if all owners are alive and competent until it receives WRITTEN notice of death (D.6); after notice it may freeze the account, refuse transactions, and reverse or return deposits, including government and retirement benefit payments payable to the deceased (D.6); it is authorized to pay transactions the owner authorized before death (D.6); if there is any question about ownership it may freeze all or part of the account pending satisfactory evidence of each person's right to the funds (D.6); and if the decedent owed the bank a debt, it may apply funds from one account to a debt on another (D.6, N.3) — though that right of setoff does not reach IRA Plans, Keogh retirement accounts, or consumer credit card debt (N.3). No early withdrawal penalty is imposed on a CD or IRA time deposit when the withdrawal follows an owner's death (L.3, M.3). The survivor guide adds that if the decedent did not live in Hawaii, a Hawaii probate estate may need to be established using a Hawaii-licensed attorney, and that certain direct deposits received after the date of death must be returned to the originating agency. For home loan accounts, call 1-888-643-3888. Investment accounts and Investment IRAs are claimed through Bankoh Advisors at 808-694-8500 (Cetera Investment Services, 130 Merchant Street CC#888, Honolulu, HI 96813), not the bank.
Mortgage and home lending
Mortgages and home equity loans are liabilities, not assets. They do not have beneficiaries and cannot be retitled to a trust. When a borrower dies, the loan obligation transfers with the property to whoever inherits it. Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Act, the lender cannot accelerate the loan or call it due when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, or the borrower’s revocable trust.
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Your government-issued photo ID
- Continue making payments on the existing loan
- Apply for loan assumption
- Refinance the mortgage
- Pay off the loan in full
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if court-appointed fiduciary)
- Trust agreement (if property held in trust)
- Deed to the property or other proof of ownership interest
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), the bank cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, or relative of the deceased borrower, or to the borrower's revocable living trust.
Opening an account for the estate itself
Checks made out to the estate deposit into an account titled to the estate, opened by the appointed executor or administrator under the estate's EIN.
How to open an estate account at Bank of Hawaii →Expected timelines at Bank of Hawaii: Notification is immediate by phone; the account settlement happens at a branch appointment. Bank of Hawaii's own survivor guide warns that the overall estate settlement process can take 12 months or longer. Accounts with a named POD beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a successor trustee settle fastest, since no court paperwork is needed. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by Bank of Hawaii includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (passport, driver's license, or state-issued ID), and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if probate is required), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Bank of Hawaii does not publish a dedicated estate-services portal or downloadable death-claim forms for consumers. Call 808-643-3888 in Hawaii, 1-888-643-3888 from the U.S. Mainland and Canada, 1-877-553-2424 in Guam and Saipan, or 680-488-3338 in Palau (specialists 7am-7pm HST, 7 days a week), then book a banker appointment at https://www.boh.com/bank-by-appointment. Give the notice in writing as well: under Bank of Hawaii's Consumer Deposit Account Agreement (DDA-721, Section D.6), the bank may keep acting as if every account owner is alive and competent until it receives written notice of the death. Bring a certified death certificate and either Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, per the bank's downloadable "When a Loved One Passes" guide (form AD-790_E). The distribution and claim forms are produced by the banker once the account is reviewed in person.
Once Bank of Hawaii has notice of the death, its Consumer Deposit Account Agreement (DDA-721, Section D.6) lets it freeze the account, refuse transactions, and reverse or return deposits, including government and retirement benefit payments payable to the deceased. The bank's "When a Loved One Passes" guide says the same thing from the survivor's side: certain direct deposits received after the date of death may need to be returned to the originating agency, and payors such as Social Security and pension plans should be told to stop paying. Transactions the owner authorized before dying can still be paid. Note the setoff right as well: if the decedent owed Bank of Hawaii money, the bank may apply funds from one account to a debt on another, though that right does not reach IRA Plans, Keogh accounts, or consumer credit card debt (DDA-721, Section N.3). Ask the banker to stop the deposits at the appointment rather than assuming the account will simply hold them.
Brokerage and IRA investment accounts at Bank of Hawaii are held through Bankoh Advisors, a marketing name of Cetera Investment Services LLC (member FINRA/SIPC) -- not the bank itself. The division was previously Bankoh Investment Services, Inc. (BISI) and rebranded as Bankoh Advisors after the Cetera networking agreement. Because these accounts are custodied by Cetera, death claims and TOD or beneficiary transfers on investment accounts and Investment IRAs are handled by Bankoh Advisors at (808) 694-8500 (130 Merchant Street CC#888, Honolulu, HI 96813), separately from deposit-account claims handled by the bank. Investment products are NOT FDIC insured, NOT bank guaranteed, and MAY lose value.
Yes. Bank of Hawaii's own survivor guide (form AD-790_E) states that when the total value of the decedent's estate in the state of Hawaii is $100,000 or less, does not include real estate, and no personal representative has been appointed by a probate court, accounts may be closed with a properly executed Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Haw. Rev. Stat. 560:3-1201). Present the affidavit, a certified death certificate, and government-issued ID at a branch appointment. Two things the guide adds: if the decedent did not live in Hawaii, a Hawaii probate estate may need to be established through a Hawaii-licensed attorney; and if the account is a CD or an IRA time deposit, the early withdrawal penalty is waived when the withdrawal follows an owner's death (DDA-721, Sections L.3 and M.3). Accounts that already carry a POD beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or trust title pass outside probate entirely and do not need the small-estate affidavit.
Bank of Hawaii's Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118 can be reached by phone at 1-888-643-3888 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Bank of Hawaii accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118 can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Bank of Hawaii primary sources (31 pages reviewed). How we research.
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, per DDA-721 Section B.9); headquarters at 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
The Private Bank
Bank of Hawaii, The Private Bank, 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118
Bank of Hawaii, Deposit Operations #118, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846
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