Probate of Hawaii Real Estate Owned by Japanese Citizens

When a Japanese national owns Hawaii real estate and that person dies in Japan a Hawaii Probate Court proceeding must filed in order to transfer the Hawaii real estate held in his or her name from the decedent’s estate to the heirs or devisees (often the children).

This is common as some Hawaii property such as Diamond Resort on Maui conveyed fractional interest to Japanese citizens.

An Application for Informal Appointment of a Personal Representative is filed, along with other documents, some that have to be notarized in Japan. A personal representative is appointed (Letters of Administration) and takes necessary steps to distribute the real estate to the court approved heirs.

Court hearings can be avoided under certain conditions and so the Japanese citizens can avoid flying into Hawaii.

Depending on the facts we would charge a fixed fee for legal work, or would charge an hourly rate if the case is not straight forward and would require a formal proceeding.