Hawaiʻi Estate and Trust Litigation FAQ

Contested estate matters tend to arrive with a long history behind them and a short deadline in front of them. These are the questions that come up first.

01The trustee will not tell me anything. Do I have a right to information?

Generally yes. A beneficiary is ordinarily entitled to know what the trust or estate holds and what the fiduciary has been doing with it, and a trustee has an affirmative duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed rather than waiting to be asked.

When requests are ignored, the court can order a formal accounting. In our experience that order is frequently the turning point in the case, because an accounting either resolves the concern or documents the problem.

02What counts as a trustee breaching their duties?

The recurring categories are self-dealing (buying estate property, hiring their own business, or lending to themselves), favoring one beneficiary over another where the document requires impartiality, commingling trust funds with personal funds, taking unreasonable compensation, failing to account or inform, letting assets deteriorate or sit uninvested, and making distributions the document does not authorize.

Being slow, disorganized or unpleasant is not by itself a breach. The line is whether the conduct falls below the duties the law imposes, and whether it has caused loss.

03What can a court actually do about a trustee who has breached?

Remove and replace them. Order them to make good the loss personally, which is called a surcharge. Deny their fees or order fees already taken to be repaid. Order improperly transferred property returned to the trust. Enjoin them from further action pending the outcome. In appropriate cases, order that they pay the costs of the proceeding.

04On what grounds can a will or trust be challenged?

The principal grounds are lack of testamentary capacity at the time of signing; undue influence, where someone in a position of trust or control over the person overbore their free will; fraud; duress; forgery; and failure to comply with the formalities the law requires for execution and witnessing. A later valid document revoking an earlier one is also commonly at issue.

Disliking the outcome is not a ground, and neither is unequal treatment on its own — a person is generally entitled to leave their property unequally. What matters is whether the document reflects their own decision.

05What does an undue influence case look like in practice?

It is built from a pattern rather than a single fact: who had access to the person and who was excluded, who controlled their finances, medical records and their declining condition, how and when the document was changed and by whose attorney, whether the change favored the person who arranged it, and whether it departed sharply from a long-standing plan.

These cases are won and lost on records and testimony, which is why they belong with someone who takes depositions and cross-examines witnesses as a matter of routine.

06Our family owns land together and we cannot agree what to do with it.

That is a partition matter. Where co-owners of real property cannot reach agreement, a court can divide the land physically among them where that is practical, or order it sold and the proceeds divided according to each owner’s share.

The contested issues are usually which of those two outcomes applies, how the property is valued, and what credits are owed to co-owners who have been paying taxes, insurance, mortgage or maintenance, or who have improved the property. Family land with kuleana origins, or with long-standing informal arrangements about who lives where, raises further issues worth discussing early.

07One sibling has been living in our parent’s house rent-free since the funeral.

This is one of the most common flashpoints we see. Occupation of estate property during administration, who pays the carrying costs, whether an occupancy credit or rent should be charged against that person’s share, and whether the property can be sold over their objection are all matters the court can resolve.

They are also matters where waiting is expensive, because the longer the arrangement continues the more there is to unwind.

08How long do I have to bring a claim?

It depends on the claim. Contesting a will or trust, objecting to an accounting you have been sent, and bringing a claim against a fiduciary all carry their own time limits, and some of them begin to run when you received a notice rather than when you understood it.

If you have had anything in writing from a court, a trustee, a personal representative or their attorney, treat the date on it as significant and call us promptly. Missing one of these deadlines can end an otherwise strong claim.

09Will this end up in a trial?

Most contested estates settle, often at mediation. But they settle on terms shaped by each side’s honest assessment of what a judge would do with the evidence, so the preparation that would win at trial is the same preparation that produces a fair settlement earlier.

We prepare these matters to be tried. When the other side is willing to resolve it sensibly, that is usually the better outcome for a family, and we will tell you so.

10Can you act for a trustee or personal representative who is being accused?

Yes. Fiduciaries are frequently accused of misconduct by beneficiaries who are unhappy with an outcome the document required, or who have misunderstood an accounting. Defending a fiduciary who has acted properly — and who is personally exposed if they are found not to have — is a substantial part of this practice.

We act on either side of these disputes, but not on both sides of the same one. Whoever calls first, we will tell you plainly whether we can take the matter.

This page is general information and is not legal advice about your situation. Whether a claim is available to you, and how long you have to bring it, depends on facts we would need to discuss. Call 808-865-2100 or contact us online.