Haw. Prob. R. 110 (2026)

Rule 110. Conversion to trust; funding trust. (a) Funding a Pre-Existing Trust. Where an individual or any other person has established a trust of which the individual is the primary beneficiary for life, the court upon petition may order the individual's assets to be transferred to said trust or may appoint a conservator or special conservator to transfer some or all of the individual's assets to the trustee of said trust, without further accounting to the court. In appropriate circumstances, the court may order the conservator to transfer future assets such as a cash flow, annuities, royalties, or the like to be transferred to the trust upon receipt. COMMENTARY: Many individuals establish revocable trusts for their own benefit and intend them to act as will substitutes. Where such a management vehicle has been voluntarily established by the individual before becomingincapacitated,thecourtmayorder that assets not already placed in trust be transferred to the trust and thereby remove them from the continued supervision of the court. In some cases, someone other than the individual (e.g., the individual's parent or grandparent) may have established a trust for the individual's benefit. While the court may authorize the transfer of the individual's assets to a trust established by another, before seeking such action, the petitioner should consider and advise the court of the potential tax consequences to theindividual and howtheproposed transfer affects the individual's estate plan. Although thecourt can order thefunding directly without appointing a conservator pursuant to HRS §560:5-412, in most cases, a conservator or special conservator should be appointed to facilitate the transfer of the assets into the trust. Where assets may continue to be received by the individual, such as from an annuity, retirement plan, irrevocable trust, and the like, the court may appoint a permanent conservator whose authority is limited to transferring the assets to the trust as they are received by the protected person. (b)ConvertingConservatorshipintoaNewly- Created Trust. Upon petition of the conservator or other interested person, the court may grant the conservator or a special conservator the authority to establish a trust for the benefit of the protected person and to transfer the assets of the protected person to the trustee of the trust for administration. Any such trust must be for the exclusive benefit of the protected person provided that the court may include as beneficiaries of the conservatorship assets the protected person's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary (if any) and the protected person's dependents (if any). Unless the court has approved the designation of other beneficiaries, the trust shall provide that, upon the death of the protected person, the remaining assets be distributed to or held in continued trust for those individuals who are determined to be the beneficiaries of the protected person's will in a probate proceeding or a proceeding brought under Rule 93 or similar law in another jurisdiction, or if the protected person leaves no will, those persons determined to be the heirs at law of the protected person. No amendments may be made to the trust after establishment except by order of the court. The court in its discretion may provide for periodic accounting to the court by the trustee or waive such accounting to the court in lieu of accounting to the protected person and other interested persons. COMMENTARY: HRS § 560:5-411(a)(4) grants the court the authority to create revocable or irrevocable trusts for a protected person which may extend beyond the person's life or disability. This rule provides guidance for transferring assets of the conservatorship estate to a newly-created trust. To conform to the individual's estate plan (if any), the trust may benefit those persons during the protected person's life that would normally benefit from the protected person's assets (such as a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and dependents) and must be distributed or retained in trust at the protected person's death in conformity to the protected person's last will and testament as determined under regular probate proceedings or Rule 93, or in the absence of a valid will, to the (Release: 06/06) HPR--55

Rule 110 HAWAI#I PROBATE RULES individual's heirs at law. Such transfer will be pursuant to the controlling authority, but will not thereby be subject to probate proceedings themselves. Because HRS § 560:5-411(a)(4) and (7) will permit the conservator to create, revoke or amend the protected person's revocable trust or will, with the approval of the court, the conservator may be able to change the beneficiaries of the protected person's estate plan to persons other than those designated in the documents created by the protected person prior to the adjudication of incapacity. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the protected person's existing estate plan should be maintained. No amendments may be made to the trust without court order, to prevent misapplication of the protected person's funds. The court may order that the trust be under the continued supervision of the court, and may require periodic accountings, or it may in appropriate circumstances release the trust from further supervision and allow it to operate as a regular free-standing trust. The court will generally not approve a newly-created trust unless the trustee is the nominated personal representative of the protected person's will, another individual who would be entitled by priority to be appointed personal representative of the protected person's estate, or a corporate fiduciary. Where thecourt retainsjurisdictionover the administration of a newly-created trust, later proceedings relating to the trust will be brought under the original C. No. or CG. No., and not under a T. No., so that the court will have all relevant information as to the history of the trust in one file. (Amended November 2, 1995, effective January 2, 1996; further amended November 12, 1997, effective December 15, 1997; further amended April 28, 2006, effective July 1, 2006.) Rule111. CONVERSIONTO CUSTODIAL ARRANGEMENT. The court, upon petition of the conservator, may authorize the conservator to transfer up to $10,000 to a custodial account under Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 553A, the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, to be held until age 18 or 21, as provided by that Act. COMMENTARY: The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act permits the court to transfer certain assets to an UTMA account for the benefit of a minor, including the authority to transfer assets valued at more than $10,000. However, because of the lack of accountability under UTMA to the court, the courts in practice have not granted petitions to transfer more than $10,000 to an UTMA account, and this rule formalizes that policy. All estates for minors subject to the jurisdiction of the court will have to be administered by conservatorship or trust arrangement, because the courts will thereby have greater opportunity to exercise oversight as to the administration and disposition of the funds. (Amended April 28, 2006, effective July 1, 2006.) HPR--56 (Release: 06/06)

HAWAI#I PROBATE RULES Rule 113