Petition for Probate of Will and for Letters Testamentary - Hawaii

PETITION FOR PROBATE OF WILL AND FOR LETTERS TESTAMENTARY

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FIFTH] CIRCUIT, STATE OF HAWAII

(Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceeding — Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 560:3-401, 560:3-402)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption and Case Information
2. Petitioner Information
3. Decedent Information
4. Jurisdiction and Venue
5. The Will Offered for Probate
6. Devisees Under the Will and Heirs Entitled to Notice
7. Priority and Qualification of Personal Representative
8. Bond
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Verification
11. Certificate of Service / Notice
12. Attachments Checklist

1. CAPTION AND CASE INFORMATION

Case No.: [____________________________________]

Petition for: ☑ Formal Probate of Will ☑ Formal Appointment of Personal Representative
Administration requested: ☐ Unsupervised ☐ Supervised (HRS § 560:3-501)

2. PETITIONER INFORMATION

Name: [PETITIONER FULL LEGAL NAME]
Address: [STREET ADDRESS], [CITY], Hawaii [ZIP CODE]
Telephone: [________________________] Email: [________________________]
Interest in this proceeding: Petitioner is an interested person under HRS § 560:1-201 and is the personal representative nominated in the Decedent's Will.
Relationship to Decedent: [RELATIONSHIP]

If appointed and accepting appointment as personal representative, Petitioner submits personally to this Court’s jurisdiction in proceedings relating to the estate under HRS § 560:3-602.

3. DECEDENT INFORMATION

This proceeding is commenced ☐ within five years after the Decedent's death; or ☐ more than five years after death under an exception stated in HRS § 560:3-108(a), namely: [________________________________].

4. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

a. Venue. Venue for this first formal testacy proceeding is proper in the [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FIFTH] Circuit pursuant to HRS § 560:3-201, because the Decedent was domiciled in that circuit at the time of death.

b. Nature of proceeding. This is a formal testacy proceeding — litigation to determine that the Decedent left a valid Will — commenced by an interested person under HRS § 560:3-401, requesting that the Court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating the Will and determining the heirs.

c. The Decedent died testate on [__/__/____], leaving a Last Will and Testament dated [__/__/____].
☐ The Decedent also executed [____] codicil(s) dated [__/__/____], offered for probate herewith.

d. ☐ No will of the Decedent has been informally probated, and no personal representative has been appointed. (If a will was informally probated, this petition seeks formal probate without regard to that informal probate, per HRS § 560:3-401(b).)

5. THE WILL OFFERED FOR PROBATE

a. The instrument offered for probate is the Last Will and Testament of the Decedent dated [__/__/____], consisting of [____] pages, together with any codicil(s) described above (the "Will").

b. Original. The original of the Decedent's last Will: ☐ accompanies this Petition ☐ is in the possession of the Court (HRS § 560:3-402(a)(3)).
☐ The original Will is lost, destroyed, or otherwise unavailable; the contents are stated in the attached statement (HRS § 560:3-402(a)(3)).

c. Validity. The Will was executed in compliance with HRS § 560:2-502 (signed by the Testator and by at least two witnesses) — or qualifies as a holographic will under HRS § 560:2-502(b) — and is, so far as Petitioner knows, the Decedent's last will, valid and unrevoked.

d. Self-proving status (HRS § 560:2-504):
☐ The Will is self-proved by the acknowledgment of the Testator and the affidavits of the witnesses made before a notary public, in substantially the form prescribed by HRS § 560:2-504, and may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any attesting witness.
☐ The Will is not self-proved; proof of due execution will be supplied by affidavit or testimony of an attesting witness.

e. Attesting witnesses:

f. Petitioner is unaware of any instrument revoking the Will or any later will, and is unaware of any proceeding pending elsewhere concerning the Decedent's estate.

6. DEVISEES UNDER THE WILL AND HEIRS ENTITLED TO NOTICE

a. Devisees under the Will:

b. Heirs of the Decedent (determined under HRS §§ 560:2-101 to 560:2-103), entitled to notice of this proceeding:

c. The names and addresses above include all persons having or claiming an interest in the Decedent's estate whose addresses are reasonably ascertainable, as required for the statements incorporated by HRS § 560:3-402(a)(2).

7. PRIORITY AND QUALIFICATION OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

a. The Will nominates [PETITIONER / NOMINEE FULL LEGAL NAME] as personal representative (executor) of the estate.

b. Priority (HRS § 560:3-203). A person with priority as determined by a probated will, including a person nominated by a power conferred in a will, has the first priority for appointment as personal representative under HRS § 560:3-203(a)(1), ahead of the surviving spouse/reciprocal beneficiary, other devisees, and heirs.

c. Not disqualified. Petitioner is at least eighteen years of age, is not a person whom the Court would find unsuitable, and is otherwise qualified to serve under HRS § 560:3-203(f). Petitioner accepts the appointment and will discharge the duties of personal representative.

d. ☐ Petitioner is the domiciliary personal representative or is nominated by the domiciliary personal representative (HRS § 560:3-203(g)).

8. BOND

a. Bond in a formal proceeding (HRS § 560:3-603(b)). The Court may require bond at appointment. If the Will relieves the personal representative of bond, bond is not required unless an interested person requests it and the Court finds it desirable. The Court may dispense with a bond required by the Will if it finds bond unnecessary.

☐ The Will expressly waives bond. Petitioner requests appointment without bond.
☐ The Will is silent on bond, and Petitioner requests appointment without bond under HRS § 560:3-603.
☐ The Will requires bond, or a demand for bond has been filed; Petitioner will furnish bond in the amount fixed by the Court (HRS § 560:3-604).

b. Estimated value of the estate (for any bond/fee purposes): $[________________]

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests that the Court, after notice and hearing:

a. Enter an order finding that the Decedent died testate and that the instrument offered is the Decedent's valid last Will;

b. Admit the Will (and any codicil) to formal probate under HRS § 560:3-409;

c. Determine the heirs of the Decedent;

d. Appoint Petitioner as personal representative (Executor) of the estate under HRS § 560:3-203;

e. Direct that Letters Testamentary be issued to Petitioner upon qualification, with [☐ no bond / ☐ bond as fixed by the Court];

f. Authorize ☐ unsupervised / ☐ supervised administration as requested above;

g. Grant such other and further relief as is just and proper.

10. VERIFICATION

I, [PETITIONER FULL LEGAL NAME], declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Hawaii that I have read the foregoing Petition and that the statements contained in it are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief (HRS § 560:1-310).

Executed on [__/__/____] at [CITY], Hawaii.

Petitioner Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name: [PETITIONER FULL LEGAL NAME]

11. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE / NOTICE

Notice of hearing (HRS §§ 560:3-403, 560:1-401). In a formal testacy proceeding, the petitioner must give notice of the time and place of hearing to the surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, children and other heirs, named devisees and executors, any personal representative whose appointment has not terminated, and anyone who has filed a demand for notice. Mail notice by certified, registered, or ordinary first-class mail, or deliver it personally, at least 14 days before the hearing. Give notice by publication to unknown interested persons and known interested persons whose addresses cannot be found with reasonable diligence: publish at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial circuit, with the last publication at least 10 days before the hearing.

☐ Proof of publication is attached.
☐ Waivers of notice (HRS § 560:1-402) executed by interested persons are attached.

Signature: ______________________________________
Printed Name: [PETITIONER / ATTORNEY NAME]
Hawaii Bar No.: [________________] (if attorney)
Firm / Address: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________] Email: [________________________]

12. ATTACHMENTS CHECKLIST

☐ Original Last Will and Testament (and any codicil) of the Decedent
☐ Certified copy of the Death Certificate
☐ Self-proving affidavit (HRS § 560:2-504) or affidavit/testimony of attesting witness
☐ Statement of contents of a lost/destroyed will (HRS § 560:3-402(a)(3)), if applicable
☐ Acceptance of appointment / consent and waivers of notice (HRS § 560:1-402)
☐ Proposed Statement / Order of Formal Probate and Appointment (HRS § 560:3-409)
☐ Proposed Letters Testamentary
☐ Bond (HRS §§ 560:3-603, 560:3-604), if required
☐ Information to Heirs and Devisees / notice forms; Proof of publication
☐ Filing fee payment

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• HRS § 560:3-201 — Venue for first and subsequent estate proceedings.
• HRS § 560:3-401 — Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced.
• HRS § 560:3-402 — Formal testacy or appointment proceedings; petition; contents.
• HRS § 560:3-409 — Order in formal testacy proceeding (probate of will).
• HRS § 560:2-502 — Execution; witnessed and holographic wills.
• HRS § 560:2-504 — Self-proved will.
• HRS § 560:3-203 — Priority among persons seeking appointment as personal representative.
• HRS §§ 560:3-603, 560:3-604, 560:3-605 — Bond not required without court order; exceptions; amount; demand.
• HRS §§ 560:1-401, 560:1-402 — Notice; method and time of giving; waiver.
• Hawaii Revised Statutes ch. 560 (Uniform Probate Code) — https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0560/