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HRS §560:2-502

Making a Will: Witnessed and Handwritten Wills

This section explains the basic rules for making a valid will in Hawaii. A normal will must be written, signed by you (or someone you direct in your presence), and signed by two witnesses. If you write the important parts and your signature by hand, it can be valid without witnesses.

everyone

The statute, as written — Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in sections 560:2-503, 560:2-506, and 560:2-513, a will must be: (1) In writing; (2) Signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and (3) Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after the individual witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph (2) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will. (b) A will that does not comply with subsection (a) is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. (c) Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence, including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§560:2-503 Writings intended as wills, etc.

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