Honolulu Attorney Scott Makuakane

Attorney's Profile

COLLEGE:
Duke University
LAW SCHOOL:
University of Hawaii
ATTORNEY SINCE:
1983
STATES ADMITTED:
Hawaii
PRACTICE AREAS:
Estate Planning & Administration

Scott A. Makuakane has been practicing estate planning and trust law in Hawaii since 1983. He is past-chair of both the Probate & Estate Planning Section and the Estate & Gift Tax Committee of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA). He also served as corporate secretary of the HSBA and is past co-chair of the Law-Related Education Committee of the HSBA. Mr. Makuakane has written various books and articles for lawyers concerning estate planning. He has served as lecturer for the Hawaii Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the National Business Institute, the National Estate Planning Conference Center, Professional Education Systems, Inc., and the Young Lawyers Division of the HSBA, as well as for churches and community groups.

Mr. Makuakane is past president and a director of the Christian Legal Society of Hawaii, past president and past chairman of the board of the Financial Planning Association of Hawaii, and past president of the board of trustees of the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Honolulu. He is an elder of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu at Ko`olau.

Mr. Makuakane is a graduate of the William S. Richardson (University of Hawaii) School of Law, Duke University, and Ka’u High School.

Attorney's Videos

Am I responsible for my deceased parent or spouses bills?
Probate Law

Are there alternatives for managing property when a person becomes incapacitated?
Elder Law

Are there techniques available to reduce or avoid estate taxes?
Asset Protection Law

Are there things I can do to protect my existing business?
Asset Protection Law

Are there ways to protect my assets other than using a trust?
Asset Protection Law

As an heir, how do I stay informed of what is happening in the probate case?
Probate Law

Can a beneficiary also be a witness to my will?
Estate Planning Law

Can a retirement plan protect my assets?
Asset Protection Law

Can a will be changed or revoked after my death?
Probate Law

Can all elder law attorneys handle all issues that come up in an elder law context?
Elder Law

Can anyone else revoke a power of attorney I have granted?
Elder Law

Can asset protection work if I am currently in litigation?
Asset Protection Law

Can I add my daughter's or son's name to my bank account instead of having a power of attorney?
Elder Law

Can I appoint the same person as executor (personal representative), trustee, and guardian?
Estate Planning Law

Can I contribute to a special needs trust my mother-in-law established in her will for my niece, or do I set up my own?
Disability Planning Law

Can I disinherit my spouse or my children?
Wills and Trusts Law

Can I give my agent under a power of attorney the power to make health care decisions for me?
Elder Law

Can I have a durable power of attorney that becomes effective only in the future?
Elder Law

Can I name more than one person as agent?
Elder Law

Can I pay the decedent's debts even if the creditor has not filed a claim?
Probate Law

Can I require my agent to provide me a monthly or annual account?
Elder Law

Can I transfer my assets to my children just before I go into a nursing home and still qualify for Medicaid?
Asset Protection Law

Can I use a reverse mortgage program to help with finances?
Elder Law

Can I use my will to name a guardian to care for my young children and manage their property?
Estate Planning Law

Can I use my will to name a guardian to care for my young children and manage their property?
Wills and Trusts Law

Can my disabled child start receiving Social Security based upon my husband's employment history?
Disability Planning Law

Can someone challenge my will after I die?
Estate Planning Law

Can the disabled beneficiary get the money out of the special needs trust if she needs it?
Disability Planning Law

Can the estate attorney also represent me as a beneficiary?
Probate Law

Do all attorneys practice elder law?
Elder Law

Do beneficiaries have to pay creditors out of their own pocket if the estate is insolvent?
Probate Law

Do I have to have my power of attorney recorded at the County Clerk's office?
Elder Law

Do I need a lawyer for estate planning, or can I hire a paralegal or another non-attorney to assist me?
Estate Planning Law

Do I need a living trust?
Elder Law

Do I need a will?
Elder Law

Do I need an attorney to handle an estate?
Probate Law

Do I need the original will?
Probate Law

Do I need to insure estate assets?
Probate Law

Do life insurance or retirement benefits need to go through my estate?
Probate Law

Does a revocable living trust protect my property from creditors?
Estate Planning Law

Does a will control all of my property?
Estate Planning Law

Does an executor (personal representative) get paid?
Estate Planning Law

Does the person named in a will as executor (personal representative) have to serve?
Estate Planning Law

How can an estate plan make things easier on my family after I die?
Estate Planning Law

How can I avoid being impoverished by the high cost of nursing home care?
Asset Protection Law

How can I ensure that my trust fulfills my intended goals?
Estate Planning Law

How can I find out if there was a will?
Probate Law

How can I protect my house in Hawaii?
Asset Protection Law

How can someone see the will of a person who has died?
Probate Law

How do I find an attorney to help me with asset protection?
Asset Protection Law

How do I get a special needs trust in my will for the benefit of a disabled person?
Disability Planning Law

How does a power of attorney terminate?
Elder Law

How does an asset protection trust work?
Asset Protection Law

How does Social Security determine disability?
Disability Planning Law

How does someone establish a supplemental needs trust?
Disability Planning Law

How is a supplemental needs trust different from any other asset protection trust?
Disability Planning Law

How long does the probate or administration of an estate take?
Probate Law

How long is a will valid?
Wills and Trusts Law

How much does estate planning cost?
Estate Planning Law

How much income can I make and still qualify for Medicaid?
Asset Protection Law

How much will it cost to challenge a will in Hawaii?
Wills and Trusts Law

How vulnerable is a home to lawsuits?
Asset Protection Law

I am considering a trust to protect my assets from taxes. Can a trust lower my federal estate tax liability?
Asset Protection Law

I carry malpractice and/or liability insurance. Is that enough to protect my assets?
Asset Protection Law

I heard I can give away $10,000 and not have any problems. Is that true?
Asset Protection Law

I heard Medicaid can take our house for reimbursement. Is that true?
Asset Protection Law

I made a will, but lived in another state. Now I live in Hawaii. What should I do?
Wills and Trusts Law

I now get government assistance, but may inherit a significant amount of money. Will my government benefits be reduced?
Disability Planning Law

I owed a debt to a friend who recently died. Do I still owe the money?
Probate Law

I was told that because I did not work long enough, I cannot get disability from Social Security. Is that true?
Disability Planning Law

If a person has a revocable living trust, what happens when they die? How long does it take to settle the estate?
Estate Planning Law

If a will is set aside or declared void in a will contest case, what happens next?
Wills and Trusts Law

If I am given power of attorney, can I also receive a gift from the person who named me their power of attorney?
Wills and Trusts Law

If I am in a nursing home, is it too late to give away my assets and qualify for Medicaid?
Asset Protection Law

If I am named in a will as a beneficiary, do I need an attorney?
Probate Law

If I create a revocable living trust, do I still need a will?
Estate Planning Law

If I give my agent immediate powers, do I forfeit all rights to make financial decisions?
Elder Law

If I have a special needs trust from a different state, is it good in Hawaii?
Disability Planning Law

If I have all my estate planning and long term care documents from another state, do I have to have them redone in Hawaii?
Elder Law

If I need more letters testamentary, how do I get them?
Probate Law

If I successfully bring a will contest case, can I get the estate to pay my attorney's fees?
Wills and Trusts Law

If my spouse and I own everything jointly, might a durable power of attorney still be useful?
Elder Law

If my spouse enters a nursing home, must I give away my assets to keep them from being taken to cover the costs of care?
Asset Protection Law

If my spouse is going into a nursing home, can they transfer all of their assets to me and qualify for Medicaid?
Asset Protection Law

Is a revocable living trust available to the public like a will?
Estate Planning Law

Is a will contest case tried by a jury?
Wills and Trusts Law

Is asset protection only for the wealthy?
Asset Protection Law

Is it expensive to create a revocable living trust?
Estate Planning Law

Is it possible that I may need more than one limited liability company (LLC)?
Asset Protection Law

Is it true that Social Security will pay disabled persons?
Disability Planning Law

Is there a method to effect the same ends as a durable power of attorney, but have the power survive death?
Elder Law

Must I give my agent full power over all of my property?
Elder Law

Must I leave something to my spouse and children?
Wills and Trusts Law

Must I leave something to my spouse and my children in my will?
Estate Planning Law

Must the individual or individuals I appoint as an agent live in the same state?
Elder Law

Must the money left over in a special needs trust after a disabled person dies be paid to the government?
Disability Planning Law

Must third parties honor a power of attorney?
Elder Law

My adult child is disabled and never worked. Can she collect Social Security benefits?
Disability Planning Law

My husband died and left a will giving his assets to me and my children. Do we need to probate the will in court?
Probate Law

My spouse died with a will and did not leave me anything in their will. Do I have any special rights as a spouse?
Probate Law

My spouse died with a will and did not leave me anything in their will. Do I have any special rights as a spouse?
Probate Law

Once I sign a durable power of attorney, can I change my mind?
Elder Law

Should I add my family member's name on my assets and avoid a will?
Elder Law

Should I hire an attorney to help me put together an asset protection plan?
Asset Protection Law

Should I just give all of my assets to a relative to hold for me?
Asset Protection Law

Should I make a will online?
Wills and Trusts Law

Should I notify my bank about a durable power of attorney?
Elder Law

Should I talk with the person I intend to appoint before completing a durable power of attorney?
Elder Law

The decedent owed me money. How do I file a claim against the estate?
Probate Law

Under a power of attorney, can my agent make a gift on my behalf?
Elder Law

What are foreign trusts and off-shore entities that I hear about being used for asset protection purposes?
Asset Protection Law

What are letters of administration?
Probate Law

What are letters testamentary?
Probate Law

What are some risks involved in engaging in an asset protection plan?
Asset Protection Law

What are some risks involved in using an asset protection trust?
Asset Protection Law

What are some typical estate planning documents?
Estate Planning Law

What are the formalities of signing a power of attorney?
Elder Law

What are the statutory rights of a surviving spouse in Hawaii?
Wills and Trusts Law

What are trusts?
Estate Planning Law

What benefits does a trust offer?
Estate Planning Law

What do testate and intestate mean?
Probate Law

What documents should I have in my estate plan that will help me plan for long term care?
Elder Law

What does a proper estate plan include?
Estate Planning Law

What does intestate mean?
Estate Planning Law

What does it mean to fund a trust?
Estate Planning Law

What happens if I die without a will?
Estate Planning Law

What happens if I die without a will?
Wills and Trusts Law

What happens if my agent does things that are wrong or not what I want?
Elder Law

What happens if we cannot find a will?
Probate Law

What happens in my will if my children are under age minors?
Wills and Trusts Law

What if someone objects to the will?
Probate Law

What if the decedent owned real property in more than one state?
Probate Law

What if there is no will?
Probate Law

What is a durable power of attorney?
Elder Law

What is a fiduciary?
Estate Planning Law

What is a guardian ad litem?
Probate Law

What is a no contest clause?
Wills and Trusts Law

What is a pooled trust?
Disability Planning Law

What is a power of attorney?
Elder Law

What is a revocable living trust?
Estate Planning Law

What is a special needs trust?
Disability Planning Law

What is a trustee?
Estate Planning Law

What is a will contest?
Wills and Trusts Law

What is a will?
Estate Planning Law

What is a will?
Wills and Trusts Law

What is an advance directive?
Elder Law

What is an asset protection trust?
Asset Protection Law

What is an executor (personal representative) and what do they executor do?
Estate Planning Law

What is an executor (personal representative) or executrix?
Probate Law

What is asset protection?
Asset Protection Law

What is elder law?
Elder Law

What is estate planning?
Estate Planning Law

What is hospice?
Elder Law

What is incapacity or a lack of capacity?
Wills and Trusts Law

What is joint tenants with right of survivorship?
Asset Protection Law

What is long term care?
Elder Law

What is Medicaid?
Asset Protection Law

What is offshore planning?
Asset Protection Law

What is probate and estate administration?
Probate Law

What is respite care?
Elder Law

What is SSDI?
Disability Planning Law

What is SSI?
Disability Planning Law

What is tenants by the entirety?
Asset Protection Law

What is tenants in common?
Asset Protection Law

What is the Hawaii right of election?
Probate Law

What is the attorney's role in the estate planning process?
Estate Planning Law

What is the difference between a first-party special needs trust and a third-party special needs trust?
Disability Planning Law

What is the difference between a general and a limited power of attorney?
Elder Law

What is the difference between a special needs trust and a supplemental needs trust?
Disability Planning Law

What is the difference between an assisted living residence and a nursing home?
Elder Law

What is the difference between insanity and lack of capacity?
Wills and Trusts Law

What is the effect on my estate planning documents if I move?
Estate Planning Law

What is the limit on the amount of assets and income a person receiving SSI can have?
Disability Planning Law

What is the maximum amount of personal property that can be administered without probate?
Probate Law

What is undue influence?
Wills and Trusts Law

What protection is available through a family limited partnership?
Asset Protection Law

What protection is available through a general partnership?
Asset Protection Law

What rights do the surviving family have in the probate estate?
Probate Law

What should be considered for estate planning if a parent or a loved one is residing in a skilled nursing facility?
Estate Planning Law

What should I be careful of when preparing an asset protection plan?
Asset Protection Law

What should I consider when developing a long term care plan in Hawaii?
Elder Law

What should I do if I realize that my parents do not have an estate plan in place?
Estate Planning Law

What should I do if I revoke the durable power of attorney?
Elder Law

What should I do if there is a will and there are not enough assets to cover the deceased's debts?
Probate Law

What should I do to prepare for seeing an estate attorney?
Probate Law

What should my parents know before considering senior housing options?
Elder Law

What techniques can I use to protect my business property?
Asset Protection Law

What traits are important in finding an estate planning attorney?
Estate Planning Law

What types of property transfers by operation of law?
Probate Law

When does a power of attorney become effective?
Elder Law

When is the right time to begin estate planning for myself?
Estate Planning Law

When should an estate plan be reviewed?
Estate Planning Law

When should I start asset protection planning?
Asset Protection Law

Where do I find the original will?
Probate Law

Where should I keep my estate planning documents?
Estate Planning Law

Who are the parties involved in the probate or administration process?
Probate Law

Who can challenge a will in Hawaii?
Wills and Trusts Law

Who can create a power of attorney?
Elder Law

Who can make a will?
Wills and Trusts Law

Who controls the money in the supplemental needs trust?
Disability Planning Law

Who inherits my Individual Retirement Account (IRA) if I do not name a beneficiary?
Probate Law

Who needs to engage in asset protection planning?
Asset Protection Law

Who pays for the debts of the deceased person?
Probate Law

Who pays for the estate attorney?
Probate Law

Who should be my executor (personal representative) or trustee?
Estate Planning Law

Why do I need help obtaining Medicaid coverage? Can I just submit the application?
Asset Protection Law

Why is it important for someone to put an special needs trust in place if they want to leave money to a disabled person?
Disability Planning Law

Why is it important to have a supplemental needs trust in place for a disabled person?
Disability Planning Law

Why should I apply for Medicaid coverage?
Asset Protection Law

Why should I consider creating a revocable living trust?
Estate Planning Law

Why should I hire an elder law attorney?
Elder Law

Will a professional corporation (PC) protect my assets in Hawaii?
Asset Protection Law

Will I still have control over my property if I have a revocable living trust?
Estate Planning Law

Will my agent charge for services rendered?
Elder Law

Would a revocable living trust provide protection for my assets?
Asset Protection Law

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Law Firm Info

Est8Planning Counsel LLLC
http://est8planning.com

1100 Alakea Street, Suite 2424
Honolulu, HI 96813

(877) 595-9510

About Our Firm

With offices in Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as on Maui and Kauai, estate planning attorney Scott Makuakane and Est8Planning Counsel LLLC. serve clients throughout Hawaii. We are adept at providing fundamental estate planning services, including wills, living trusts, power of attorney, and health care documents, plus more extensive services, including estate tax planning, estate litigation, probate and estate administration, asset protection, and elder law. Our mission is to help our clients enjoy the confidence of knowing that they have done all in their power to protect themselves and their families and to pass on a lasting legacy. Our vision is to be second to none in delivering outstanding service with aloha!

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