State guide
Hawaii
Hawaiʻi follows the Uniform Probate Code in HRS chapter 560, and the creditor-notice rules differ between ordinary probate and certain clerk-administered small estates. For regular probate, publication to creditors is optional under section 560:3-801, but if used it creates a 4-month claims bar tied to the first publication.
Checked against official sources on October 4, 2026. Rules and links change; confirm with the office listed before you act.
- Creditor claim deadline
- 4 months after first publication; 60 days after mailed/delivered notice to a known creditor if that period ends later
- Outside deadline
- 18 months after death if no notice to creditors is published or served
- Law
- HRS §§ 560:3-801, 560:3-803, 560:3-1201, 560:3-1206
- Small-estate limit
- Collection by affidavit when the gross value of the decedent’s estate in Hawaiʻi, excluding motor vehicles, does not exceed $100,000
Official resources in Hawaii
Official probate code chapter containing the notice-to-creditors statute for regular probate estates.
Official statute setting deadlines and bars for creditor claims.
Official small-estate affidavit statute for collection of personal property up to the published cap.
Official judiciary form used for the small-estate affidavit process.
Official court self-help/forms page for people handling matters without a lawyer.
Key facts for Hawaii
- For regular probate, a petitioner may publish notice to creditors once a week for 3 successive weeks.
- If that notice is published, claims are barred unless presented within 4 months after first publication.
- Known creditors may be given written notice by mail or other delivery.
- For a known creditor who is served, the deadline is 60 days after service or 4 months after first publication, whichever is later.
- If no notice is published or served, pre-death claims are barred within 18 months after death.
- Hawaiʻi allows collection of personal property by affidavit if the gross in-state estate, excluding motor vehicles, does not exceed $100,000.
What to do next
- Decide early whether you will use the published-notice procedure, because it changes the creditor-claim timeline.
- For smaller estates, compare the $100,000 affidavit process with any court-filed small-estate procedure before opening a full probate.
- Use the judiciary’s probate forms and local circuit filing instructions because Hawaiʻi probate is circuit-based.
Helpful guides
- What is a notice to creditors in probate?
- How to publish a probate notice in a newspaper
- How much does it cost to publish a probate notice?
- What counts as a legal newspaper for probate notices
Creditor deadline calculator →