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HRS §560:2-609

When a lifetime gift counts as paying off a will gift

This section explains when a gift given during the testator's life is treated as reducing or replacing a gift left in the will. It only counts if the will, a written statement at the time, or the recipient's written note says so. The gift's value is set when the recipient gets it or when the testator dies, whichever comes first.

beneficiariesheirspersonal representatives

The statute, as written — Ademption by satisfaction

(a) Property a testator gave in the testator's lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part, only if: (1) The will provides for deduction of the gift; (2) The testator declared in a contemporaneous writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise; or (3) The devisee acknowledged in writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise. (b) For purposes of partial satisfaction, property given during lifetime is valued as of the time the devisee came into possession or enjoyment of the property or at the testator's death, whichever occurs first. (c) If the devisee fails to survive the testator, the gift is treated as a full or partial satisfaction of the devise, as appropriate, in applying sections 560:2-603 and 560:2-604, unless the testator's contemporaneous writing provides otherwise.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§560:2-603 What happens to a gift in a will if the person dies first

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