Hawaii: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements
The short answer
Yes. Hawaii adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. An individual with will-making capacity signs a recordable deed, acknowledges it before a notary or other authorized officer, and records it before death with the Bureau of Conveyances or files it with the Land Court, depending on the title system. No witnesses are required.
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This is the general rule in Hawaii. Ezel applies current Hawaii law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, HRS chapter 527 (§§ 527-1 to 527-17), applicable when the transferor dies on or after July 1, 2011 |
|---|---|
| TOD deed available? | Yes — an individual may transfer Hawaii real property to one or more beneficiaries by a revocable TOD deed (HRS §§ 527-2, 527-5 to 527-7) |
| How to sign it | Individual transferor signs with will-making capacity and acknowledges the deed before a notary or other authorized officer; no witnesses required (HRS §§ 527-2, 527-8, 527-9(1), 502-41 to 502-42) |
| Recording requirement | Before death, record regular-system property with the Bureau of Conveyances or file Land Court property with the assistant registrar; no fixed signing-to-recording deadline. Land Court property also requires a post-death petition before transfer (HRS §§ 527-5, 527-9(3), 527-13(a)(1)) |
| Revoking it | Always revocable. A later-acknowledged TOD deed, express revocation, or inter vivos deed expressly revoking must be recorded/filed before death. Physical cancellation and a will do not work; all living joint-owner transferors must revoke their joint deed (HRS § 527-11) |
| Eligible property & owner | An individual may transfer an interest in Hawaii real property that is transferable at death, under either the regular recording system or Land Court. A joint owner's deed yields to surviving joint owners and works for the last survivor (HRS §§ 527-2, 527-5, 527-13(c)) |
| Beneficiary survival & effect | Beneficiary must survive or the interest lapses. Multiple beneficiaries take equal undivided shares without survivorship; a failed share goes proportionately to the others. Beneficiary takes subject to liens and encumbrances and without title warranty (HRS § 527-13) |
| Creditor & Medicaid reach | Not shielded. During life the deed does not affect the owner's creditors. After death, if the probate estate is insufficient, the estate may enforce allowed claims and spouse/child allowances against TOD property, apportioned by net value, within 18 months. Hawaii Medicaid must file qualifying recovery claims against the recipient's estate, so § 527-15 makes TOD property reachable when that allowed claim cannot be paid from the probate estate (HRS §§ 527-12(3), 527-15, 346-37(a)) |
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Hawaii's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, HRS chapter 527, lets an
individual name one or more beneficiaries for Hawaii real property while retaining full
ownership and control during life.
How to sign it
The owner signs a deed containing the essential elements and formalities of a properly
recordable lifetime deed. Under HRS § 527-8, the owner needs the same capacity required
to make a will. The deed must state that the transfer occurs at death.
Because HRS § 502-41 requires an acknowledgment for an instrument to be recorded, the
owner acknowledges the deed before a notary or another authorized officer. Chapter 527 adds
no witness requirement. The beneficiary does not sign, accept, or receive the deed during
the owner's life, and no consideration is required under § 527-10.
Record or file it before death
Hawaii uses two real-property title systems. Under HRS § 527-9, the owner must act before
death:
- for regular-system property, record the deed with the Bureau of Conveyances; or
- for Land Court property, file it with the assistant registrar of the Land Court.
There is no separate deadline measured from signing or notarization. The decisive deadline
is death. For Land Court property, § 527-13(a)(1) also requires a post-death petition to
note the transferor's death and obtain a new certificate of title before the interest
transfers.
Revoking it
The deed remains revocable even if it says otherwise. HRS § 527-11 recognizes three
recorded or filed methods:
- a later TOD deed that revokes expressly or by inconsistency;
- an express revocation instrument; or
- an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes the TOD deed.
The later instrument must be acknowledged after the original deed and recorded or filed in
the applicable title system before death. Burning, tearing, canceling, or destroying the
recorded deed does not revoke it. A will is not one of the statute's permitted methods. All
living joint owners must revoke a TOD deed they executed as joint owners.
Eligible property and co-owners
The transferor must be an individual, and the property must be an interest in Hawaii real
property that is transferable at death. Chapter 527 covers property in both the regular
recording system and the Land Court system.
A TOD deed cannot override an existing right of survivorship. Under § 527-13(c), if one
or more joint owners survive the transferor, the property belongs to them and the TOD deed
has no effect. It becomes effective when the transferor is the last surviving joint owner.
Beneficiary survival and what passes
The default rules in HRS § 527-13 require the beneficiary to survive the transferor. A
beneficiary's interest lapses if the beneficiary dies first. Multiple beneficiaries take
equal undivided shares without a right of survivorship, and a failed share passes
proportionately to the remaining beneficiaries.
The beneficiary takes subject to the mortgages, liens, contracts, encumbrances, and other
interests affecting the property at death. The deed transfers no covenant or warranty of
title.
Creditor and Medicaid reach
During life, HRS § 527-12 says the deed does not affect the rights of the owner's secured,
unsecured, or future creditors. The owner remains free to sell or mortgage the property, and
the beneficiary has no present interest.
After death, Hawaii provides a direct creditor remedy. If the probate estate cannot pay an
allowed estate claim or a statutory allowance for a spouse or child, HRS § 527-15 lets
the estate enforce that liability against the TOD property. Liability is apportioned by the
net value of multiple TOD properties, and the enforcement proceeding must begin within
18 months after death.
Medicaid can be one of those claims. HRS § 346-37(a) requires the Department of Human
Services to file qualifying medical-assistance claims against a recipient's estate, subject
to the statute's age and surviving-spouse or protected-child limits. If that allowed claim
cannot be paid from the probate estate, § 527-15 keeps the TOD property reachable. A Hawaii
TOD deed therefore avoids probate administration but is not a Medicaid-recovery shield.
What trips people up
- The correct title system matters. Regular-system property is recorded with the Bureau;
Land Court property is filed with the assistant registrar. - Notarizing without recording or filing is not enough. The deed must reach the proper
system before death. - A will does not revoke the deed. Use one of § 527-11's recorded or filed instruments.
- Survivorship ownership comes first. A surviving joint owner defeats the TOD transfer.
- Probate avoidance is not debt protection. Section 527-15 gives allowed estate claims an
18-month route to reach TOD property when the probate estate is insufficient.
Common questions
Do I need witnesses? No. The Act requires the ordinary formalities of a recordable deed,
including acknowledgment, but it adds no witness requirement.
Does the beneficiary sign? No. Section 527-10 says notice, delivery, acceptance, and
consideration are unnecessary during the owner's life.
What happens if one of several beneficiaries dies first? The failed share passes
proportionately to the surviving beneficiaries under § 527-13(a)(4).
Can the beneficiaries take as joint tenants by default? No. The statutory default is
equal undivided shares with no right of survivorship.
Statutes and sources
- HRS chapter 527 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0527/HRS_0527-.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
- HRS §§ 502-41 to 502-42 (recording acknowledgment) — https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0502/HRS_0502-0041.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
- HRS § 346-37 (medical-assistance recovery claims) — https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0346/HRS_0346-0037.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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