Hawaii life estate deed

What a life estate deed does in Hawaii

A traditional life estate deed splits ownership across time. You, the life tenant, keep the right to live in and use the property for the rest of your life. The remaindermen you name own everything after that, and their interest vests the moment the deed is delivered; recording protects it against later buyers and creditors. Because their interest is real and present, you can't sell, refinance, or undo the deed without their signatures. That permanence is the whole difference between this and a lady bird deed.

The Hawaii law behind this deed

Hawaii has no section written specifically for life estate deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.

When Hawaii property owners use a life estate deed

• Pass a home to children while reserving the right to live there for life
• Start the Medicaid look-back clock on a transfer (state rules vary)
• Avoid probate on the property with a simple, long-established instrument
• Provide for a surviving spouse or partner with the remainder going to your own children

What Hawaii requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules the Bureau of Conveyances enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Hawaii

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Bureau of Conveyances (statewide) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3.5-inch first-page margin used for Hawaii deeds.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
5. 5Complete Form P-64A (Conveyance Tax Certificate) when tax is due, or Form P-64B (Exemption from Conveyance Tax)Hawaii requires this alongside the deed, including for exempt transfers. Your filing packet explains which boxes apply to your situation.
6. 6Record it with the Bureau of Conveyances (statewide)File it with the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, which records deeds for property on every island, and pay the recording fee. The Bureau of Conveyances accepts e-recording of Regular System and Land Court documents through its approved vendors (Simplifile, CSC, Indecomm and ePN). Vendors charge their own fees on top of the recording fee, and some require a subscription or a set-up charge, so for a single deed recording in person or by mail is usually simpler. A P-64A or P-64B still goes with the deed where one applies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
7. 7Tell the people you named where it isAt your death they record a certified death certificate, and in some states an affidavit, to show that your life estate has ended. Ask your insurer whether they should be added to the policy now.

What it costs in Hawaii

Hawaii charges a conveyance tax of $0.10 to $1.25 per $100, rising with the price and higher for a condominium or single-family home when the buyer is not eligible for a county homeowner's exemption. Paid by the grantor, by law (HRS § 247-4). A sale contract can shift the cost to the buyer. The tax is on the full consideration, including any mortgage or lien on the property (HRS § 247-2).

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: transfers between spouses or civil union partners, reciprocal beneficiaries, or a parent and child, where only nominal consideration is paid (HRS § 247-3(4)), transfers where the whole consideration, counting any mortgage or lien on the property, is $100 or less (HRS § 247-3(5)), transfers from you to your own revocable living trust, or from that trust back to you (HRS § 247-3(14)), and transfer on death deeds (HRS § 247-3(17)). You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in Hawaii

Deeds for property anywhere in Hawaii are recorded with the statewide Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu. There are 5 counties in Hawaii, and none of them records deeds.

The Bureau of Conveyances accepts e-recording of Regular System and Land Court documents through its approved vendors (Simplifile, CSC, Indecomm and ePN). Vendors charge their own fees on top of the recording fee, and some require a subscription or a set-up charge, so for a single deed recording in person or by mail is usually simpler. A P-64A or P-64B still goes with the deed where one applies.

Recording offices we cover in Hawaii: Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai. See all Hawaii recording offices.

What a life estate deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• It is not revocable. Once recorded, you can't sell or mortgage the property without every remainderman signing.
• A remainderman's divorce, bankruptcy, or judgment creditor can attach their interest in your home while you're still living in it.
• Because you keep the right to live there for life, the full value is still counted in your estate for federal tax purposes (26 U.S.C. § 2036). That generally gives the remaindermen a stepped-up basis at your death, but it also means the deed does not shrink a taxable estate.
• It is usually treated as a divestment for Medicaid purposes. Get advice before using it for that purpose.

Quirks of Hawaii law that catch people out

• Hawaii records every deed in a single statewide Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, for property on every island. There are no county recorders.
• Hawaii runs two parallel systems: the Regular System (recording) and Land Court (Torrens registration). Check your current deed. A Land Court deed shows a Transfer Certificate of Title number, its document number starts with T, and its recording label sits in the top left corner. Land Court deeds must cite that certificate number and state whether each new owner is married, and if so the spouse's full name (HRS §§ 501-105, 501-108). Deedly's Hawaii deed is written for Regular System property.
• Most deeds must travel with a conveyance tax form: Form P-64A when tax is due, or Form P-64B to claim an exemption, including for gifts. A transfer on death deed needs neither (HRS § 247-3(17), § 247-6(b)).
• The top 3.5 inches of page one must be blank, and the next inch holds only the return address. Page one must also show the tax map key and the total number of pages (HRS § 502-31(e); HAR § 13-16-7).
• The Bureau of Conveyances will not record a deed that does not cite the document number of the deed the grantor took title under (HAR § 13-16-6).
• Hawaii recognizes transfer-on-death deeds under chapter 527. For Land Court property, the beneficiaries must petition the Land Court after the owner's death before the property passes to them (HRS § 527-13(a)(1)).