Hawaii Transfer on Death Deed

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   In Hawaii a transfer on death deed is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. It is authorized by the Hawaii Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 527.

2. 2

   During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership. It is nontestamentary and takes effect without notice, delivery, acceptance, or consideration by the beneficiary (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-7 and 527-10), so you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it.

3. 3

   To be valid the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which includes acknowledgment before a notary (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-9). Hawaii does not require any witnesses.

4. 4

   The capacity to make or revoke the deed is the same as the capacity required to make a will (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-8).

5. 5

   You must record the deed with the Bureau of Conveyances, or file it with the office of the assistant registrar of the land court for registered land, before your death (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-9). Hawaii records statewide, not county by county, and there is no fixed deadline after signing.

6. 6

   Hawaii chapter 527 does not prescribe a mandatory statutory form. The deed must meet the formalities of a recordable deed and state that the transfer takes effect at your death.

7. 7

   The deed is revocable (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-6), but only by a recorded or filed instrument acknowledged after the deed being revoked, such as a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-11). You cannot revoke it by tearing or destroying it, and a will cannot revoke it.

Hawaii Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

• Meet the Recordable Deed Requirements

  Hawaii does not prescribe a mandatory statutory form. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-9 the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed and state that the transfer takes effect at the transferor death.

• Legal Description and Tax Map Key

  The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the tax map key. Note whether the property is registered in the land court, because that changes where the deed is filed.

• Name the Beneficiary and an Alternate

  The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the transferor death, and an alternate if the first does not survive. Naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.

• Notarize the Signature

  The transferor must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged before a notary, which is part of the formalities of a recordable deed (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-9). Without a valid acknowledgment the deed cannot be recorded.

• No Witnesses Required but Will-Level Capacity

  Hawaii does not require witnesses for a transfer on death deed, but the capacity to make or revoke it is the same as the capacity required to make a will (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-8).

• Record Statewide Before Death

  The deed must be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances, or filed with the office of the assistant registrar of the land court for registered land, before the transferor death (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-9). Hawaii records statewide, not county by county, and there is no fixed deadline after signing.

• Revoke Only by Recorded Instrument

  The deed is revocable (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-6) but only by a recorded or filed instrument acknowledged after this deed: a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it (Haw. Rev. Stat. 527-11). Tearing or destroying the deed does not revoke it, and a will cannot revoke it.

• Property Passes Subject to Claims

  The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist on it at the transferor death. The deed passes only the property it describes and does not change the transferor other assets or will.