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HRS §554D-1008

When a Trust Can't Protect a Trustee from Liability

A trust can say the trustee isn't responsible for mistakes, but that protection doesn't work if the trustee acted in bad faith or didn't care about the trust's purpose or the people who benefit from it. It also doesn't work if the trustee used a special relationship to unfairly get that protection written into the trust.

beneficiariescourtstrustees

The statute, as written — Exculpation of trustee

A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it: (1) Relieves the trustee of liability for breach of trust committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of the beneficiaries; or (2) Was inserted as the result of an abuse by the trustee of either a fiduciary or confidential relationship to the settlor.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.