YES YOU CAN!

     Probate is a court proceeding meant to distribute property to the rightful heirs. If the deceased person did not  place (all of ) their assets in a trust, the courts will work to determine who will acquire the property the decedent did not place in the Trust. This property is called the “decedent’s estate.” The “decedent” is the person who died. Their “estate” is all the assets they owned when they died, minus those assets that were already placed in a trust or have designated living beneficiaries. In other words, if there are assets in a Trust, those assets do not need to be filed through probate. If a life insurance policy has a named beneficiary who is still alive, that also does not need to go through probate.  

Generally, an informal  probate case takes around 9 months to a year to complete. Although the results of probate are determined by the court, many cases do not require the executor/administrator to ever physically appear in court. If a case doesn’t require a trial/hearing before a judge it is called an Informal Probate case. If a case does require a trial/hearing it is considered a Formal Probate case. 

    Most cases can be taken care of through the informal probate process. This will require the petitioner to file paperwork with the court without needing a hearing. Most of  the paperwork between the petitioner and the court will be done electronically. This process can be executed by a competent individual without the assistance of an attorney, if so desired. The forms available on this site are here only to facilitate independent informal probate filing. If the probate estate includes real property that has not already been transferred through a joint ownership or transfer on death deed, it is recommended you contact an attorney to conduct the probate case for the estate, as this may require formal probate proceedings. 

    To begin a case, someone called “the petitioner” must start a case in court by filing a petition for probate. The case must be filed in the county where the person who died resided. If the decedent died with a will, the petitioner must file the original signed will  with the court with the petition. The court will then appoint the petitioner as executor (based off of the will) to serve as Personal Representative. With that authority, the petitioner can then collect the decedent’s assets, pay off their debts and expenses, and  subsequently distribute the remainder of the estate to the beneficiaries (those who have been designated to inherit.)

     If someone dies without a will, the law gives a priority list for who should be the administrator. The surviving spouse or legal domestic partner is at the top of the list, with children as the second category, grandchildren as the third, parents as the fourth, and any descendants of the parents being last. If you are deemed to be the executor based on your placement on this list, but want to renounce your responsibility to be the Personal Representative, you must sign a Letter of Renunciation.  Depending on your familial situation, many relatives of the decedent might have to sign a Letter of Renunciation.  If there are any disputes over who will be the Personal Representative, the forms on this site will likely not be of any use to you, as a formal probate case will need to be opened. 

     If all parties involved are in agreement about who will act as the administrator of the estate, then the administrator can use our forms to  file the necessary documents in order to be considered the Personal Representative and perform the necessary duties of a Personal Representative (including as mentioned earlier paying off debts/expenses and distributing the asset.) 

      Probate can have a wide variety of circumstances. We provide forms for the four counties in Hawaii. Within each county there are four variations to choose from. Form Packet A is for decedents with a Will  who have passed within the past five years. Form Packet B is for decedents with a Will  who have passed over five years ago. Form Packet C is for decedents without a Will  who have passed within the past five years. Form Packet D is for decedents without a Will  who have passed over five years ago. 

     While our purchasable form packets include digitally fillable versions of all of the necessary forms to open and conclude an Informal Probate case, as well as brief instructions on when, where and how to file these forms, this site does NOT give legal advice or provide thorough instructions on how to manage the entire probate process. If you are not sure how to use any of these forms, it is recommended that you contact an attorney or refer to the numerous estate planning instructional manuals available for purchase in book stores or on-line.