An Estate in Dispute Needs a Litigator.

• Free Initial Consultation

  Tell us about the estate, the trust or the dispute in a confidential, complimentary consultation. You are under no obligation to hire us.

  How it works

• Flexible Fees

  We charge a flat fee or bill hourly, depending on the case. We agree on it in writing before you hire us.

  How it works

• Courtroom Litigators

  Contested estates are trial work. We prepare your case as if it will go to trial, and that affects how it settles.

  How it works

• Deadlines First

  Estate matters have deadlines, and some are short. We find the ones that apply to you right at the start.

  How it works

• Straight Answers, Plain Language

  We answer your questions promptly and explain the court process and your options without jargon.

  How it works

• Regular Case Updates

  We keep you informed as your case moves. Our client portal lets you see your file at any hour.

  How it works

When an estate ends up in court, it is no longer just paperwork. That can happen because the estate has to be probated, or because the people involved cannot agree. Either way, you are now dealing with litigation.

Segal Law handles probate and contested estate and trust matters in the Circuit Courts of the State of Hawaiʻi. Some of this work is procedural. We open the probate, get a personal representative appointed, inventory the assets, handle creditors, and close the estate properly. Some of it is a fight from the first filing. A trustee will not account. A will appeared late in life and changed everything. Siblings each believe the others are taking more than their share. Or land has passed through so many hands that no one can agree what to do with it.

Both kinds of cases are heard in the same courtrooms, by the same judges, under the same rules of evidence as any other civil case. That is the work we do.

When an Estate Has to Be Probated

Probate is the court process for settling what a person left behind. The court decides whether there is a valid will and appoints someone to act for the estate. It then oversees collecting the assets, paying legitimate debts and taxes, and giving what remains to the people entitled to it. If there is no will, Hawaiʻi law decides who inherits and in what shares.

Not everything a person owned has to go through probate. Some things generally pass outside it: assets with a valid beneficiary designation, property held in joint tenancy with a right of survivorship, and property properly transferred into a trust during life. What is left is what the court has to deal with. Often that is the family home, a bank account nobody updated, or an undivided interest in land.

Contested Estates and Trusts

Most estate disputes are about facts more than law. Who said what? Who had access? Was the person competent? Where did the money go? Facts are proven with documents, testimony and cross-examination. These are the cases we are most often hired for:

1. 01

   Breach of fiduciary duty by a trustee or personal representative

   Anyone holding property for someone else owes strict duties. They must put the beneficiaries’ interests ahead of their own. They must treat beneficiaries impartially, manage the assets prudently, and keep beneficiaries informed. You can go to court over self-dealing, mixing estate funds with personal funds, paying themselves unreasonable fees, letting property sit and deteriorate, or simply refusing to communicate.

2. 02

   Compelling an accounting

   A beneficiary is generally entitled to know what the estate or trust holds and what has been done with it. If a fiduciary will not share that, the court can order a formal accounting. The accounting is very often where the rest of the case is found.

3. 03

   Removal and surcharge of a fiduciary

   If a trustee or personal representative has breached their duties, a court can remove them. It can make them repay losses they caused out of their own pocket. It can deny or claw back their fees. It can also order the return of property that was improperly transferred.

4. 04

   Will and trust contests

   A will or trust amendment can be challenged on several grounds. These include lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence by someone in a position of trust or control, fraud, duress, forgery, or not following the legal rules for signing and witnessing. These cases usually turn on medical records, how the signing happened, and who was in the room.

5. 05

   Disputes among beneficiaries

   Beneficiaries disagree over unclear language, unequal treatment, and who gets to live in or use estate property while the case is pending. They also disagree over what an asset is worth, and whether lifetime gifts or loans should count against a share. The court can interpret the document, order property sold or divided, and settle the accounting between the parties.

6. 06

   Creditor claims and claims against the estate

   Some claims against an estate are stale, inflated or simply wrong. Others are legitimate and must be paid in the correct order before anyone inherits. We defend estates against bad claims, and we pursue claims the estate itself holds. Both are litigation.

Partition: Inherited Land and Co-Owners Who Cannot Agree

This is a Hawaiʻi-specific problem. Land passes down without a plan, generation after generation. Eventually one parcel is owned in undivided fractional shares by dozens of relatives. Some have never met. Some live thousands of miles away. Some cannot be found at all. One cousin wants to sell. One family has lived on it for forty years. Nobody can refinance it, insure it properly, or clear title to it.

When negotiation fails, a partition action resolves it. A court can divide the land among the co-owners where that is practical. Or it can order the land sold and divide the money by each owner’s interest. Which of those happens is often a real fight. So are the terms, the value of the land, and the credit owed to the people who have paid the taxes and upkeep. You want someone in the room who litigates.

Land with kuleana origins, and land subject to family agreements that were never written down, raise issues beyond a simple split of value. When you call, tell us the history of the parcel. It usually matters more than the deed.

Why Courtroom Experience Matters in a Contested Estate

Estate cases are among the most document-heavy and expert-heavy cases in civil litigation. Capacity is proven or disproven through medical records and treating doctors. Undue influence is shown by who controlled access to the person and their money. Valuation disputes come down to competing appraisers. An accounting dispute is won by the side that can walk a judge through the ledger and show what is wrong with it.

All of that is trial work: contested evidentiary hearings, depositions, expert examination, and cross-examining the person on the other side. Most estate disputes settle. They settle based on what each side thinks will happen if they do not. A fiduciary and their lawyer look at a demand differently when it comes from an attorney who is in court every week and is ready to try the case.

Fees and What to Expect

01What happens in the free initial consultation?

You tell us about the estate or trust, how you are connected to it, and what has happened so far. Include any notice you have received from a court, a trustee or an attorney. There is no charge, and what you tell us is kept confidential.

We will tell you honestly whether we think we can help and what the next steps would be. You are under no obligation to hire us, and nothing you say in the consultation commits you to anything. To schedule one, call us or send a message through our contact form.

02How are fees handled in a probate or estate dispute?

Estate cases vary a lot. Depending on the case, we charge a flat fee or bill hourly. The right choice depends on how much of the work is procedural, how contested it is, and how much depends on what the other side does.

We will talk through which arrangement fits before you hire us. The fee and exactly what it covers go into a written fee agreement, and we go over it with you.

03Why does it matter that you litigate?

Contested estate and trust cases are decided like other civil cases. That means contested evidentiary hearings, depositions, expert examination and cross-examination. Capacity, undue influence, valuation and accounting disputes are all won on evidence.

Most estate disputes settle. They settle based on what each side thinks will happen if they do not. A fiduciary and their lawyer look at a demand differently when it comes from an attorney who is in court every week and is ready to try the case.

04What deadlines should I be worried about?

There are time limits for opening a probate, contesting a will or trust, and bringing claims against a fiduciary. They vary by the type of claim and by when you knew or should have known about it. A creditor claim window can close while the family is still deciding what to do. So can the window to object to an accounting sent to you.

Finding the deadlines that apply to you is one of the first things we do. If you got a notice about an estate you have an interest in, check the date on it and call us.

05How will you communicate with me?

Probate and trust cases come with unfamiliar terms, court filings and, often, family members who are not getting along. We return your calls and messages promptly. We explain in plain language where your case stands, what your rights are, and what your options are.

Every major decision is yours, including whether to accept a settlement. Our job is to give you what you need to make it.

06How will I know what is happening with my case?

We update you as your matter moves: when records or an accounting come in, when the other side responds, when an offer is made, and ahead of every court date.

You can also check your file any time, day or night, through our client portal.

Please contact 808-865-2100 or info@segallawhawaii.com to set up a consultation about a probate or a contested estate. Segal Law is located in Wailuku, Maui and appears in courts throughout the State of Hawaiʻi.