Estate Planning
Wills
A will records your wishes, names guardians for minor children, and gives the court direction for anything that passes through your estate.
A will is the document most people picture when they think about estate planning. It states who receives what, who is responsible for carrying out your wishes, and — critically for young families — who raises your children if you cannot.
What a will does not do is avoid probate. A will is, by design, an instruction to the probate court. If your estate is large enough or complex enough to require probate in Hawaii, a will tells the court how to proceed but does not spare your family from the process.
That is why we treat a will as one component of a plan rather than the whole plan. For some clients — younger families without significant assets, or people whose property already passes by other means — a well-drafted will and a set of directives is genuinely the right answer. For others it is the backstop behind a trust. We will tell you honestly which one you are.
What’s Included
What this covers
Distribution of your estate
Clear direction on who receives what, including specific gifts of meaningful property.
Guardianship nominations
Your choice of who raises your minor children, and who manages money on their behalf — often two different people.
Personal representative appointment
The person who will handle the estate, with alternates named in case your first choice cannot serve.
Personal property memorandum
A separate list you can update yourself, without a lawyer, for items with sentimental value.
Self-proving affidavit
Executed with the required witnesses and notarization so the court can accept the will without tracking down your witnesses years later.
Worth Thinking About
Decisions we’ll work through together
Guardianship is the reason most young parents finally act
Without a nomination, a Hawaii court decides who raises your children among whoever comes forward. Your nomination carries significant weight.
A will does not control everything
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and jointly held property pass by beneficiary designation or operation of law. Those have to be reviewed alongside the will.
Handwritten and online wills
We regularly meet families cleaning up after a form will that did not account for Hawaii law. Fixing it after the fact costs far more than doing it correctly.
Common Questions
Frequently asked
Is a will enough if I own a home in Hawaii?+
Usually not on its own. If the home is titled in your individual name, it will generally need to pass through probate even with a valid will. A trust is typically the better fit for homeowners.
How often should I update my will?+
Review it after any marriage, divorce, birth, death, move to or from Hawaii, or significant change in assets. Absent those, a check-in every three to five years is reasonable.
Can I write my own will?+
Hawaii recognizes properly executed wills regardless of who drafted them, but execution requirements and unintended ambiguity are where self-drafted wills fail. The cost of ambiguity falls on your family.
Plan for Your Future Today
Planning for the future can feel overwhelming. Our team will guide you through it step by step — and leave you with the peace of mind that comes from knowing your family and your assets are protected.
Complimentary initial consultation · Flat-fee quotes · In person on Maui or by video