Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in Hawaii

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Claim order

Under § 560:3-805, ordinary last-illness expenses follow federal preferences in class four. The same provision places specified department claims for funeral expenses in class two and for last-illness care in class four; other claims under § 346-37 fall in class six. Under § 560:3-807, the representative provides for unresolved and still-presentable claims before paying allowed claims.

Allowances and exempt property

Under § 560:2-402, homestead allowance outranks estate claims. Under § 560:2-404, family allowance follows homestead but outranks claims; when the estate cannot discharge allowed claims, it lasts no longer than one year. Under § 560:2-403, exempt property has claim priority, while a deficiency made up from other assets yields as needed for earlier homestead and family allowance payments.

Secured claims

Under § 560:3-809, surrendering security uses the whole allowed claim as the payment basis. Keeping it reduces that basis by collateral value under the stated alternatives.

What trips people up

Section 560:3-805(b) gives no payment preference to a currently due claim over a claim due later in the same class. The statutory treatment of a department claim also depends on which recovery provision and expense it involves, rather than giving all such claims a single rank.

Common questions

Are funeral and last-illness expenses in one class? No. Section 560:3-805(a)(2),(4) places them in classes two and four.

Are all other claims under the department recovery statute last-illness claims? No. Section 560:3-805(a)(6) separately ranks other § 346-37 claims in class six.

Statutes and sources

• Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 560:3-805, 560:3-807, 560:3-809, and 560:2-402–404. Verbatim official text, section URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.