Free Hawaii Petition for Probate

How to open probate in Hawaii: petition the Circuit Court and request Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 560, art. III.

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You & the Will

Hawaii has no statewide fillable form; we draft the petition from Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 560, art. III.

Opening probate?The whole estate, start to finish.

State Where the Estate Will Be Probated*

The state where the decedent was domiciled. Only states where a self-represented filer can prepare this document are listed.

Did the decedent leave a will?*

Yes — there is a will (request Letters Testamentary)No — there is no will (request Letters of Administration)

Your First Name*

Middle Name

Your Last Name*

Your Relationship to the Decedent*

How you are related to the person who died. Being named executor in the will is asked separately.

Your Street Address*

Your Phone Number*

Hawaii requires the application to state the applicant's telephone number.

City*

ZIP Code*

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Frequently Asked Questions About Hawaii Probate Petitions

In Hawaii, you file a petition with Circuit Court to open probate. Registrar issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will) once the court grants the appointment. See how appointment works in Hawaii.

You cannot fill out Letters — they are issued by the court. The document you prepare and file is the petition (or application) for probate and for Letters. This tool prepares that petition for Hawaii.

No. Hawaii has no statewide fillable petition form, so the petition is drafted to the contents required by Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 560, art. III. After downloading, review and sign it, then file it with Circuit Court.

Hawaii offers probate e-filing. JEFS is mandatory for attorneys; self-represented litigants may register for JEFS but are not required to e-file and may file on paper. Probate documents for self-represented filers are typically prepared through the Judiciary-linked Self-Help Interactive Forms (lawhelp.org/hi), a third-party A2J Author interview rather than a downloadable statewide fillable PDF.

Along with the petition, Hawaii typically requires: Certified copy of the death certificate; Original will and any codicils; Application for informal probate / appointment OR petition for formal probate / appointment, verified by the applicant; Statement of acceptance of the duties of the office; Bond only if required.

Opening Probate in Hawaii

Before anyone can act for a Hawaii estate, Circuit Court must appoint a personal representative and issue Letters. Letters are the court's output — you can't fill them out. The document you file is the petition for probate and for Letters (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 560, art. III).

Hawaii has no statewide fillable petition form, so the petition is drafted to the contents the statute requires (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 560, art. III). This tool assembles those required allegations and the verification into a petition you can review, sign, and file with the court in the county where the decedent lived.

You file the petition together with the supporting documents the court requires — typically a certified death certificate and, where there is a will, the original will. Hawaii does not require a bond by default before Letters issue. The court reviews the petition and, if it is in order, grants it and directs that Letters issue.