Haw. Prob. R. 92

When a personal representative discovers after the commencement of a proceeding that the assets of the estate are greater in amount than originally thought, and that the value of the assets thereby exceeds the proper jurisdictional amount for a small estates proceeding, the personal representative shall petition the court for change to informal, formal, or supervised proceedings. Likewise, where the assets of the estate are less than originally thought, the personal representative in his or her discretion may petition the court for change to a small estates proceeding. In the event that the notice requirements for the new procedural level are more stringent than the notice requirements originally followed, the more stringent requirement shall be satisfied prior to the court granting the petition.

COMMENTARY:

This rule simplifies the transfer of a proceeding from small estates to informal or supervised and vice versa. With the use of a single case number under Rule 50 for all proceedings relating to a particular deceased, no petitions to terminate one level of proceeding and transfer of documents to new files will be necessary, as all factual data and prior determinations can remain in effect. The rule recognizes that notice requirements may be different for different levels of proceedings and therefore requires that the more stringent requirement be satisfied. For example, there is a one-time publication requirement for estates under $10,000 compared to the three-time publication requirement for estates subject to supervised proceedings. In addition, if an estate is opened informally, there is no publication requirement. If it is desirable to close the estate formally before the statute of limitations provided in HRS § 560:3-108(a)(3) has expired, publication would be required prior to the submission of the Petition for Approval of Final Accounts.

(Amended June 25, 2003, effective July 1, 2003.)