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HRS §560:3-814

Encumbered assets

This section lets the person in charge of a deceased person's estate deal with property that has a loan or other debt attached to it. They can pay off the debt, renew it, or give the property to the creditor, if it helps the estate. Paying the debt does not automatically increase what a beneficiary gets unless the beneficiary is supposed to be freed from the debt.

personal representatives

The statute, as written — Encumbered assets

If any assets of the estate are encumbered by mortgage, pledge, lien, or other security interest, the personal representative may pay the encumbrance or any part thereof, renew or extend any obligation secured by the encumbrance or convey or transfer the assets to the creditor in satisfaction of the creditor's lien, in whole or in part, whether or not the holder of the encumbrance has presented a claim, if it appears to be for the best interest of the estate. Payment of an encumbrance does not increase the share of the distributee entitled to the encumbered assets unless the distributee is entitled to exoneration.
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.