Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Hawaii, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Hawaii’s intestacy statute (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§560:2-102, 560:2-103, 560:2-105, 560:2-107 (Title 30A, Uniform Probate Code, Article II)) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Hawaii residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§560:2-102, 560:2-103, 560:2-105, 560:2-107 (Title 30A, Uniform Probate Code, Article II) and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: The entire intestate estate if: (A) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or (B) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary who survives the decedent. (HRS section 560:2-102(1))
When it is less than everything: Four tiers under section 560:2-102: (1) entire estate under the condition stated above; (2) if no descendant survives but a parent does, first $400,000 plus 3/4 of any balance; (3) if all of decedent’s surviving descendants are also the spouse’s, but the spouse has one or more OTHER surviving descendants not of the decedent, first $330,000 plus 1/2 of any balance; (4) if one or more of decedent’s surviving descendants are NOT descendants of the surviving spouse (the blended-family case), first $220,000 plus 1/2 of any balance. Hawaii DOES have a blended-family reduction: whenever the decedent (not the spouse) has a child from outside the marriage, the spouse’s guaranteed dollar floor drops from $330,000 to $220,000 (both still plus half the balance, so the reduction is entirely in the fixed floor, not the fraction).
The first $400,000, plus three-fourths of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent. (HRS section 560:2-102(2))
Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§560:2-102, 560:2-103, 560:2-105, 560:2-107 (Title 30A, Uniform Probate Code, Article II)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Hawaii
In Hawaii, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link; it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Who inherits if there is no spouse
Section 560:2-103(c)-(j), in order: (c) surviving descendants by representation; (d)-(e) if no descendants, to surviving parent(s), with abandoned/non-supporting parents of a minor decedent deemed predeceased; (f) if no descendants/parents, to surviving descendants of deceased parents by representation; (g)-(h) if none of the above, to surviving grandparents (split paternal/maternal); (i) descendants of deceased grandparents by representation; (j) descendants of a deceased spouse or reciprocal beneficiary; if no taker anywhere, escheats to the State under section 560:2-105.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share, but the statutory basis changed in 2023. Current section 560:2-107 (retitled ‘Inheritance without regard to number of common ancestors in the same generation,’ amended by 2023 Haw. Act 158 section 13) reads: ‘An heir shall inherit without regard to how many common ancestors in the same generation the heir shares with the decedent.’ This replaced the pre-2023 text (‘Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood’), which is what most secondary sources still quote.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Hawaii property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.