Power of Attorney Requirements in Hawaii

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Signing and acknowledgment

Section 551E-3(b) permits the principal to sign or to direct another individual to sign the principal's name in the principal's conscious presence. The same subsection gives a presumption of genuineness when the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary or another authorized acknowledgment officer. Its execution sentence does not add a witness-signature step.

Durability and future effect

Under § 551E-3(a), a power created under the chapter is durable unless it expressly says incapacity terminates it. Section 551E-5(a) makes execution the ordinary effective time but permits the principal to choose a future date, event, or contingency. Under § 551E-5(b), the instrument may name one or more people to determine in a writing or other record that the event occurred.

Real-property transfer

Section 502-84 directs recording in the Bureau of Conveyances for a power used to transfer real property in Hawaii. Without recording, the instrument is not binding to the detriment of third parties or conclusive of their rights and interests. This is a consequence for the real-property transaction, separate from the signature rule in § 551E-3(b).

Powers made elsewhere

Section 551E-3(d) recognizes a power executed outside Hawaii when execution complied with the law of the jurisdiction governing its meaning and effect or the military-power provision cross-referenced as 10 U.S.C. § 1044b. That test looks to the law applicable when the power was executed.

What trips people up

An out-of-state power may satisfy the recognition test in § 551E-3(d), but a later Hawaii real-property transfer still brings in the recording consequence of § 502-84.

Common questions

Must I copy the legislature's entire form? Section 551E-51 says a document “substantially in the following form may be used” to create the statutory form; the provision presents it as an available form.

What happens if no one is available to determine incapacity? Section 551E-5(c) provides a written-record fallback: a physician or licensed psychologist may make the stated impairment determination, or an attorney, judge, or appropriate government official may determine incapacity.

Statutes and sources

• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 551E-3 — official section (accessed 2026-10-04). Quote: (a) A power of attorney created under this chapter shall be durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. (b) A power of attorney shall be signed by the principal or in the principal's conscious presence by another individual directed by the principal to sign the principal's name on the power of attorney. A signature on a power of attorney is presumed to be genuine if the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments. (d) A power of attorney executed outside of Hawaii is valid in this State if, when the power of attorney was executed, the execution complied with: (1) The law of the jurisdiction that determines the meaning and effect of the power of attorney pursuant to subsection (f); or (2) The requirements for a military power of attorney pursuant to title 10 United States Code section 1044b, as amended.
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 551E-5 — official section (accessed 2026-10-04). Quote: A power of attorney is effective when executed unless the principal provides in the power of attorney that it becomes effective at a future date or upon the occurrence of a future event or contingency. If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the occurrence of a future event or contingency, the principal, in the power of attorney, may authorize one or more persons to determine in a writing or other record that the event or contingency has occurred. If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the principal's incapacity and the principal has not authorized a person to determine whether the principal is incapacitated, or the person authorized is unable or unwilling to make the determination, the power of attorney becomes effective upon a determination in a writing or other record by: (1) A physician or licensed psychologist that the principal has an impairment in the ability to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions even with the use of technological assistance; or (2) An attorney-at-law, a judge, or an appropriate governmental official that the principal is incapacitated.
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 502-84 — official section (accessed 2026-10-04). Quote: All articles of marriage settlement and powers of attorney for the transfer of real property within the State shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances, in default of which no such instrument shall be binding to the detriment of third parties or conclusive upon their rights and interests.
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 551E-51 — official section (accessed 2026-10-04). Quote: A document substantially in the following form may be used to create a statutory form power of attorney that has the meaning and effect prescribed by this chapter.