(a) This chapter takes effect on July 1, 1976, except that the provisions of Articles II, III and IV and the Hawaii Revised Statutes sections amended or repealed in this Article VIII on account of Articles II, III and IV take effect on July 1, 1977.
will 560x170

Ask a will, trust or estate question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified estate & trust lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 560:8-101

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Dower: A widow
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) Except as provided elsewhere in this chapter, on the effective date of this chapter:

(1) The chapter applies to any wills of decedents dying thereafter;
(2) The chapter applies to any proceedings in court then pending or thereafter commenced regardless of the time of the death of decedent except to the extent that in the opinion of the court the former procedure should be made applicable in a particular case in the interest of justice or because of infeasibility of application of the procedure of this chapter;
(3) Every executor of a will admitted to a probate before July 1, 1977, in this State and every administrator appointed before July 1, 1977, by a court of this State shall be a supervised personal representative with respect to the estate, and every guardian of the property appointed before July 1, 1976, by a court of this State shall be a guardian of the property, with only the powers conferred by this chapter and subject to the duties imposed by this chapter with respect to any act occurring or done thereafter. Every guardian of a person holding an appointment on that date continues to hold the appointment but has only the powers conferred by this chapter and is subject to the duties imposed by this chapter with respect to any act occurring or done thereafter;
(4) The consequences of an act done before the applicable effective date in any proceeding and any accrued right is not impaired by this chapter. If a right is acquired, extinguished, or barred upon the expiration of a prescribed period of time which has commenced to run by the provisions of any statute before July 1, 1977, the provisions of the statute shall remain in force with respect to that right;
(5) Any rule of construction or presumption provided in this chapter applies to instruments executed and multiple-party accounts opened before July 1, 1976, unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent; and
(6) Notwithstanding any of the above, this chapter shall not affect any property or other rights accrued under the case and statutory law of this State, including but not limited to the law relating to intestacy, dower and curtesy (chapters 532 and 533), which became vested before July 1, 1977.

  Previous
Next  
 Part 1 Contents