HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2623

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Section 509-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§509-2  Creation of joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, and tenancy in common.  (a)  Land, or any interest therein, or any other type of property or property rights or interests or interest therein, may be conveyed by a person to oneself and another or others as joint tenants, or by a person to oneself and one's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or by spouses to themselves, or by reciprocal beneficiaries to themselves, as tenants by the entirety, or by joint tenants to themselves and another or others as joint tenants, or tenants in common to themselves or to themselves and another or others as joint tenants, or by tenants by the entirety to themselves or themselves and another or others as joint tenants or as tenants in common, or by one tenant by the entirety to the tenant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary of all of the tenant's interest or interests, without the necessity of conveying through a third party, and each such instrument shall be construed as validly creating a joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, tenancy in common, or single ownership, as the case may be, if the tenor of the instrument manifestly indicates such intention.

     (b)  Where spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries make a contribution of property to a joint trust or in equal shares to their respective separate trusts, each of which is revocable by either of them, and, at the time of the transfer, such property or any part thereof or any accumulation thereto was, pursuant to applicable law, owned by them as tenants by the entirety and specific reference to this position is made in the vesting language of the instrument of transfer, then notwithstanding such contribution and except where a provision of the trust instrument may expressly provide to the contrary, that property and any accumulation thereto shall, while held in trust during the lifetime of both spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries, be treated as though it were a tenancy by the entirety property to the extent that, in any action concerning whether a creditor of either or both spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries may recover the debt from the trust, the sole remedy available to the creditor with respect to the trust property that is treated as though it were tenancy by the entirety property shall be an order directing the trustee to transfer the property to both spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries as tenants by the entirety, unless the creditor has a secured interest in the transferred property before the transfer.  Upon entry of a decree granting divorce or annulment between the spouses or the termination of the reciprocal beneficiary relationship between the reciprocal beneficiaries, trust property treated as though it were held in tenancy by the entirety shall instead be treated as though it were held in tenancy in common.

    [(b)] (c)  For the purposes of this chapter[: "Reciprocal] "reciprocal beneficiary" means an adult who is a party to a registered reciprocal beneficiary relationship in accordance with chapter 572C, and has a valid certificate of reciprocal beneficiary relationship that has not been terminated."

     SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

 

Report Title:

Spouse or Reciprocal Beneficiary; Tenancy by the Entirety; Trust

 

Description:

Specifies that property held in tenancy by the entirety shall continue to be treated as such after transfer to a specified trust except where specifically provided otherwise by the trust instrument; limits the remedy available to creditors against transferred property.  (HB2623 HD1)

 

 

 

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