Probate administration refers to the process in which a decedent’s Will is presented to a court in order for a personal representative to have the proper authority to manage a decedent’s property pursuant to the Will’s terms. Probate administration can also include intestate administration, the court process involved if a decedent dies without estate planning documents.
A personal representative has a fiduciary duty to administer a decedent’s estate appropriately pursuant to the Will’s terms and the appropriate laws. To ensure proper and effective probate administration, we recommend working with one of our Probate Administration Group attorneys to help facilitate the administration process.
We can assist and provide counsel to a personal representative in navigating the many steps involved in administrating an estate including, but not limited to, providing the required notice to the Will’s beneficiaries and administration timeline, collecting the decedent’s assets, paying any of the decedent’s outstanding creditor’s claims and debts, completing any necessary tax filings, keeping a detailed accounting regarding the decedent’s assets and payments, and finally, the appropriate distribution of the decedent’s assets to beneficiaries.
What We Do
- Uncontested Probate Administration
- Contested Probate Administration
- Intestate Administration
Our attorneys have years of experience in front of the Probate Courts in all circuits of Hawai‘i and appear before the Probate Courts regularly. This experience helps us to provide insights into how the Probate Court might rule on a particular fact pattern and develop a cost-effective strategy to either resolve the case or advocate our client’s position on the disputed matter before the Probate Court.
- In re Estate of Ferdinand Marcos, 88 Hawai‘i 148 (1998) (finding no Hawai‘i domicile in probate proceeding).
