(a) As used in this section:

“By operation of law” means pursuant to a law or judicial order affecting ownership of a vessel:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-20

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Certificate of title: means a record, created by the department under this chapter or by a governmental agency of another jurisdiction under the law of that jurisdiction, that is designated as a certificate of title by the department or agency and is evidence of ownership of a vessel. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Department: means the department of land and natural resources. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Owner: means a person that has legal title to a vessel. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Owner of record: means the owner indicated in the department's files or, if the files indicate more than one owner, the owner indicated first. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Person: means an individual; corporation; business trust; estate; trust; statutory trust; partnership; limited liability company; association; joint venture; public corporation; government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Security interest: includes any interest of a consignor in a vessel in a transaction that is subject to article 9 of chapter 490. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Vessel: means any watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except:

    (1) An amphibious vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued pursuant to part III of chapter 286 or a similar statute of another state;
    (2) A watercraft less than eight feet in length and propelled solely by sail, paddle, oar, or an engine of less than ten horsepower;
    (3) A watercraft that operates only on a permanently fixed, manufactured course and the movement of which is restricted to or guided by means of a mechanical device to which the watercraft is attached or by which the watercraft is controlled;
    (4) A stationary floating structure that:
    (A) Does not have and is not designed to have a mode of propulsion of its own;
    (B) Is dependent for utilities upon a continuous utility hookup to a source originating on shore; and
    (C) Has a permanent, continuous hookup to a shoreside sewage system;
    (5) A watercraft owned by the United States; a state; a foreign government; or a political subdivision of the United States, a state, or a foreign government; and
    (6) A watercraft used solely as a lifeboat on another watercraft. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
  • Written certificate of title: means a certificate of title consisting of information inscribed on a tangible medium. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 200A-2
(1) Because of death, divorce, or other family law proceeding; merger; consolidation; dissolution; or bankruptcy;
(2) Through the exercise of the rights of a lien creditor or a person having a lien created by statute or rule of law; or
(3) Through other legal process.

“Transfer by law statement” means a record signed by a transferee stating that by operation of law the transferee has acquired or has the right to acquire an ownership interest in a vessel.

(b) A transfer by law statement shall contain:

(1) The name and last known mailing address of the owner of record and the transferee and the other information required by section 200A-7(b);
(2) Documentation sufficient to establish the transferee’s ownership interest or right to acquire the ownership interest;
(3) A statement that:

(A) The certificate of title is an electronic certificate of title;
(B) The transferee does not have possession of the written certificate of title created in the name of the owner of record; or
(C) The transferee is delivering the written certificate to the department with the transfer by law statement; and
(4) Except for a transfer described in paragraph (1) of the definition of “by operation of law”, evidence that notification of the transfer and the intent to file the transfer by law statement has been sent to all persons indicated in the department’s files as having an interest, including a security interest, in the vessel.
(c) Unless the department rejects a transfer by law statement for a reason stated in section 200A-8(c) or because the statement does not include documentation satisfactory to the department as to the transferee’s ownership interest or right to acquire the ownership interest, no later than twenty days after delivery to the department of the statement and payment of fees and taxes payable under the law of this State other than this chapter in connection with the statement or with the acquisition or use of the vessel, the department shall:

(1) Accept the statement;
(2) Amend the department’s files to reflect the transfer; and
(3) If the name of the owner whose ownership interest is being transferred is indicated on the certificate of title:

(A) Cancel the certificate even if the certificate has not been delivered to the department;
(B) Create a new certificate indicating the transferee as owner;
(C) Indicate on the new certificate any security interest indicated on the canceled certificate, unless a court order provides otherwise; and
(D) Deliver the new certificate or a record evidencing an electronic certificate.
(d) This section shall not apply to a transfer of an interest in a vessel by a secured party under part 6, article 9 of chapter 490.

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