Hawaii Probate Cost 2026: Fees, Filing Fee, and the Small-Estate Route

Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer: Hawaii sets probate compensation using “reasonable” compensation with no percentage schedule. The two numbers that decide what an estate actually pays are the fee basis and the small-estate threshold — and whether that threshold reaches real estate, which is where most published guidance goes wrong.

What probate costs in Hawaii

Why Hawaii has no single answer

Hawaii does not publish a percentage schedule that produces one number, so any source quoting you a firm figure is estimating. What the statute actually fixes is the standard: UPC state: reasonable compensation (HRS §560:3-719); Hawaii’s old percentage schedule was repealed decades ago. That makes three things decide the bill — how many billable hours the administration takes, whether any beneficiary contests, and whether the estate qualifies for the small-estate route below and skips most of it. Get the fee basis in writing before engaging anyone.

For states that DO publish a schedule, and to compare, use the probate cost calculator.

What is the small estate limit in Hawaii?

$100,000 — collection by affidavit under HRS §560:3-1201 (motor vehicles registered to decedent transferable regardless of value); clerk-assisted small-estate administration also available for estates ≤$100,000. 30-day wait.

For the affidavit route, Hawaii answers this plainly — and the answer is no. HRS §560:3-1201 is titled “Collection of personal property by affidavit” and reaches only tangible personal property, debts, stock and other intangibles. Real property is outside it by definition. Hawaii’s separate clerk-assisted small-estate administration is a different procedure, and whether that route reaches a house is not something we have established.

Full thresholds for every state: small-estate limits by state.

If the estate is still being planned rather than settled, the usual way to keep a house out of probate entirely is a living trust, which carries its own upfront cost: whether a living trust is worth it in Hawaii.

Does a house have to go through probate in Hawaii?

By the affidavit route, yes — it cannot move a house. HRS §560:3-1201 is titled “Collection of personal property by affidavit” and its text runs only to tangible personal property, debts, stock and other intangibles, so real property sits outside it by definition. That leaves the clerk-assisted small-estate administration or ordinary probate, and we have not established whether the clerk-assisted route reaches real property — confirm that with the court before relying on it. The time to sort this out is while the owner is alive and has options. A fiduciary advisor can price the exposure alongside the rest of the estate picture. talk to someone about the whole estate picture. You can also run the numbers yourself first with the probate cost calculator — no email required.

How Hawaii compares to the other 50

Hawaii’s small-estate threshold of $100,000 ranks 7 of 50 jurisdictions with a stated figure, and sits well above the national median of $51,500. The range runs from $15,000 at the bottom to $400,000 at the top, so where an estate falls relative to the line matters far more than any national “average probate cost” figure. On fee model, Hawaii is one of 30 of 51 jurisdictions using the reasonable-fee approach.

Death taxes in Hawaii, separately

Hawaii levies an estate tax, one of 13 jurisdictions that do. That is a different question from probate cost and is decided by different statutes, but families routinely conflate the two.

Estate tax: yes – exemption $5,490,000 (fixed since 2018, not indexed); rates 10%-20% (top 20% on taxable amount over $10M above the exemption); Hawaii-level portability between spouses allowed

What this does not include

The figures above are the probate cost — the court and compensation side of settling an estate. They are separate from any state estate tax or inheritance tax, which are taxes on the transfer itself and are owed whether or not the estate goes through probate. Appraisal, bond premium, publication, and real-estate commissions if property is sold are additional and are not set by the fee statute.

Before you hire anyone

• Ask which statute the fee is charged under, and get the citation. In Hawaii the governing provisions are below.
• Ask whether the quoted fee is calculated on gross value or net of debts. Gross-value states charge on the full house value even if a mortgage covers most of it.
• Ask whether the personal representative is also claiming compensation, and on what basis.
• Ask in writing whether the estate qualifies for the small-estate route, and if a solely owned house is involved, whether that route reaches it.

Primary sources

• Haw. Rev. Stat. §560:3-719
• Haw. Rev. Stat. §560:3-1201
• Haw. Rev. Stat. §607-5

Hawaii in the rest of the picture

Probate cost is one of four things Hawaii decides for a retiree and their heirs. The other three — income tax on withdrawals, estate tax, and inheritance tax — are priced separately:

• Every tax Hawaii charges a retiree: Hawaii retirement taxes
• What a move out is worth: leaving Hawaii
• Corridor comparison: Hawaii To Nevada
• Corridor comparison: Hawaii To Texas
• Corridor comparison: Hawaii To Florida
• Corridor comparison: Hawaii To Tennessee

Compare and calculate

Probate cost by state compares all 51 jurisdictions side by side. The probate cost calculator prices a specific estate. If a move is on the table, retirement tax relocation prices probate alongside the three other taxes that change with residency.

Cite or share this guide: “Hawaii Probate Cost (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/hawaii-probate-cost/. Free to cite with attribution.