Hawaii transfer-on-death deed

What a transfer-on-death deed does in Hawaii

A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.

In Hawaii the governing statute is Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527. For Land Court (registered) property, the deed must be filed with the Assistant Registrar of the Land Court before your death (HRS § 527-9(3)), and after your death the property passes only when your beneficiaries' petition to the Land Court for a new Certificate of Title has been processed (HRS § 527-13(a)(1)). Deedly's Hawaii deed is written for Regular System property.

The Hawaii law behind this deed

Start with Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527 if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.

When Hawaii property owners use a transfer-on-death deed

• Leave a house to your children without probate
• Keep real estate out of a will contest
• Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
• Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
• Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation

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. 5Record 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.
6. 6Tell your beneficiaries where it isFor Regular System property, after your death your beneficiaries record proof of it, such as a certified death certificate or an affidavit of death, with the Bureau of Conveyances so the land records show them as the owners. For Land Court property, they must first petition the Land Court noting your death and asking for a new Certificate of Title in their names, and the property does not pass to them until that petition is processed (HRS § 527-13(a)(1)). It is a court filing, though not probate.

What it costs in Hawaii

No conveyance tax and no Form P-64A or P-64B. A transfer on death deed made under chapter 527 is exempt (HRS § 247-3(17)), and this exemption needs no certificate (HRS § 247-6(b)), so record the deed directly with the Bureau of Conveyances.

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 transfer-on-death deed does NOT do

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

• Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
• It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
• It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
• The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
• If a beneficiary dies before you, what happens to their share depends on state law: in some states it passes to the other beneficiaries or to the beneficiary's descendants, in others it fails. Naming an alternate, where your state's form allows one, avoids the question.

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)).