Protecting Your Ohana: The Comprehensive Guide to Hawaii Estate Planning

For Hawaii residents, protecting family is a priority. We work hard to build a life for our loved ones, care for aging parents, and provide a foundation for our children. Yet many people overlook the one thing that ensures these efforts aren’t lost during a crisis: a comprehensive estate plan.

Estate planning is often misunderstood as something only for the wealthy or the elderly. In reality, estate planning is about control. It is the legal process of ensuring that you—not the government or a court—decide who manages your finances, who makes your medical decisions, and how your legacy is passed down.

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning involves creating legal documents to manage and protect your assets during your lifetime and after death. It is a proactive strategy to avoid the “what ifs” of life. Whether it is a sudden medical emergency or an expected transition, a well-crafted plan ensures your wishes are honored without unnecessary legal hurdles.

At Okura & Associates, we use a personalized approach to estate planning. We learn about your personal concerns, your health, the nature of your family relationships, the stability of your children’s marriages, your investment habits, and other important factors. We then recommend various kinds of trusts or other tools to determine what kind of estate plan best fits your individual situation.

The Essential Documents in a Hawaii Estate Plan

The Durable Power of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney is perhaps the most important document you can sign while you are healthy. It allows you (the “principal”) to appoint a trusted person (the “agent”) to handle your financial and legal matters.

Hawaii law regarding Powers of Attorney was significantly updated in May 2014. If your document predates this change, it may not be as effective as it needs to be. A “durable” Power of Attorney is unique because it remains effective even if you become incapacitated. Without it, if you were to suffer a stroke or a traumatic accident, your family might have to go through a costly and public court process called a “conservatorship” just to pay your bills or manage your property.

The conservatorship hassle and expense can easily be avoided by having a good Durable Power of Attorney. Your agent will be able to handle finances for you without an exact accounting and without court supervision or attorney’s fees.

Advance Health Care Directive

While the Power of Attorney covers your finances, the Advance Health Care Directive covers your physical person. Since July 1999, Hawaii law has combined several concepts into this one comprehensive form. The Healthcare Power of Attorney portion appoints an agent to make medical decisions when you cannot. The Living Will portion lets you select specific preferences regarding end-of-life care, such as tube feeding, life-prolonging treatments, and pain management.

HIPAA Authorization

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act keeps medical records private. While privacy is vital, it can become a barrier in an emergency. A HIPAA Authorization grants your loved ones the authority to discuss your condition with medical staff, ensuring they aren’t “locked out” of the room when you need them most.

Last Will and Testament

A Last Will and Testament expresses how your assets should be distributed and names guardians for minor children. However, many residents believe that having a Will is enough to avoid court. Unfortunately, all Wills can be subject to probate court.

Why Hawaii Residents Need an Estate Plan

The High Cost of Hawaii Probate

In Hawaii, probate is the court-supervised process of settling an estate. Based on the large number of probate cases handled by our Probate Department, we have fairly good time and cost estimates. If the estate is simple, consisting perhaps of one parcel of real estate and one or two bank accounts, the probate generally costs about $8,000. The length of time it takes to finish a probate can generally vary from 7 to 15 months, depending on complications and on how cooperative the personal representative and beneficiaries are. Probate is also a public process, meaning anyone can look up your assets and who is inheriting them.

What Happens Without a Will

If you die without a Will in Hawaii, your estate is “intestate.” Hawaii’s laws of intestate distribution provide a rigid formula for who gets your assets. For example, if you have a spouse and you have children from a previous relationship, your spouse might only receive the first $220,000 plus half of the remaining balance, with the rest going to the children. This can lead to a situation where a surviving spouse is forced to sell the family home just to pay out the children’s share.

Moving Beyond the Basics:

The Revocable Living Trust

For many Hawaii homeowners, a Will alone isn’t enough—especially with our high property values. If you own any real estate (such as a home) OR if your total assets (excluding motor vehicles) exceed $100,000, your estate will likely face probate.

A Revocable Living Trust is a popular alternative. It allows you to have complete ownership and control over your assets. When you die, your assets go to the persons named in your trust, without probate. By placing your home and accounts into a trust, you maintain full control during your life, but upon your passing, the assets transfer to your beneficiaries without going through court. This saves your family months of stress and thousands of dollars in legal fees.

At Okura & Associates, we do not automatically recommend Revocable Living Trusts to our clients. We analyze your entire situation, including the value of your estate, whether you intend to live in your residence for the rest of your life, whether you have long-term care insurance and the benefit amounts, whether you have an adult child living in the home with you, and other important factors. We customize the probate avoidance plan according to your particular situation.

Protecting What You’ve Built: Asset Protection (Creditor Planning)

Many people assume “estate planning” automatically protects assets from creditors or lawsuits. In reality, most basic estate planning tools (like a Will or a Revocable Living Trust) are designed for control and probate avoidance, not creditor protection.

Asset protection is about reducing risk to your savings, home, and future income before trouble arises—using legal, transparent strategies that discourage or limit creditor recovery.

Important reality check:

• Timing matters. Transfers made after a claim arises (or when a lawsuit is foreseeable) can be challenged under fraudulent transfer laws.
• The best asset protection is planned early, while everything is calm.

Common asset-protection building blocks (for many middle-class families):

• Insurance first (often the biggest bang for the buck): homeowners, auto, umbrella liability, professional liability where applicable.
• Proper titling and beneficiary planning: sometimes how an asset is titled (and who it passes to) can affect exposure.
• Separating business/rental risk from personal assets: using the right entity structure and observing formalities (and still carrying adequate insurance).
• Retirement accounts and benefit plans: many are protected by law, but the rules vary by plan type and circumstances.
• Irrevocable Trust planning (when appropriate): certain irrevocable trusts can add protection, but they involve tradeoffs (loss of control, tax issues, and possible long-term care eligibility implications).

At Okura & Associates, we don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach. We help clients identify their risk profile (profession, rentals, business exposure, driving risks, etc.) and then build a practical plan that balances protection, simplicity, and cost.  

Planning for Long-Term Care and Medicaid (Med-QUEST)

One of the biggest financial threats to a family isn’t taxes—it’s the cost of long-term care, such as assisted living, memory care, or nursing home care. Many families are surprised to learn:

• Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial nursing home care.
• Medicaid (in Hawaii, Med-QUEST) is the program that can help pay for long-term care—but it is needs-based and has strict eligibility rules.

Med-QUEST long-term care eligibility generally involves two parts:

1. Medical need (a level of care determination), and
2. Financial eligibility (income/resource limits and rules about transfers).

The “Look-Back” Rule (why last-minute gifts can backfire) If someone applies for Medicaid long-term care coverage after giving away assets or transferring them for less than fair market value, Med-QUEST can impose a penalty period of ineligibility. Hawaii’s administrative rules provide a 60-month look-back for certain transfers. Hawaii Department of Human Services

Married couples: protections for the spouse at home Federal “spousal impoverishment” rules are designed so a healthy spouse (the “community spouse”) is not left destitute. For 2025 and each year, CMS lists:

• A Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) range (minimum/maximum), and
• A Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) with a Hawaii-specific figure, along with a related housing allowance. Medicaid

(These amounts can change annually, so we always confirm the current figures before making recommendations.)

What “Medicaid Planning” really means Medicaid planning is not about hiding assets. It’s about understanding the rules early and using lawful strategies to protect a spouse and preserve stability, such as:

• Coordinating long-term care insurance (when available/affordable) with your estate plan
• Avoiding “well-meaning” gifts that accidentally trigger penalties
• Planning ahead where appropriate (often years ahead, not months)
• Making sure powers of attorney and trust provisions are drafted with long-term care issues in mind

If long-term care is even a possible concern for your family, it’s worth discussing early—because options are typically far better before a crisis.

Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

In today’s world, an estate isn’t just physical property. It can include “digital assets” like cryptocurrency and online banking, social media accounts and digital photos, and website domains and email accounts.

Hawaii has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). This law allows your executor or trustee to manage these online assets. However, they can only do so if you have explicitly granted them permission in your estate planning documents. Without this permission, your family may be locked out of your digital legacy forever.

Choosing the Right People for Your Plan

One of the most difficult parts of estate planning is deciding who will be in charge. Whether you are naming an Agent under your Power of Attorney, a Personal Representative for a Will, or a Successor Trustee for a Trust, you should consider several factors. Does the person have a track record of being honest and reliable? Can they remain neutral if family members begin to argue? While your representative doesn’t have to live in Hawaii, it is often helpful if they understand local dynamics, especially if they need to manage or sell Hawaii real estate. Always ask the person before naming them, as serving as a representative is a big job that requires time and attention to detail.

Common Estate Planning Misconceptions

Many people believe they are too young for an estate plan. In reality, if you are over 18, you at least need a Power of Attorney and Advanced Health Care Directives. Accidents can happen to anyone, and these documents ensure your parents or spouse can help you without needing a court order.

Others assume their spouse automatically gets everything. This is not necessarily true. Hawaii’s intestacy laws can split assets between a spouse, children from other marriages, or even the deceased spouse’s parents, depending on the situation.

Some residents believe online wills are just as good as a lawyer-drafted one. Many online templates fail to meet specific Hawaii requirements or don’t account for the nuances of Hawaii’s probate rules. A mistake in the signing process can render the entire document invalid or require more complicated probate procedures.

When to Update Your Plan

An old estate plan can be as dangerous as no plan at all. You should update your documents after getting married or divorced, buying or selling a home, when a named representative passes away or moves, or if it has been more than five years since your last review.

Take the First Step

Estate planning isn’t just about what happens after you’re gone. It’s about ensuring your family is protected while you’re here. By putting together a Durable Power of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives, a HIPAA Authorization, with a Will (and maybe a Trust), you are choosing peace of mind over uncertainty.

At Okura & Associates, we have helped thousands of Hawaii families navigate these complex waters. Whether you are starting from scratch or need to update an existing plan, we are here to help you protect what matters most.

Contact us for a free initial consultation.