In Hawaii, when are dower and curtesy recognized?

In Hawaii, dower and curtesy are recognized specifically for properties owned before July 1, 1977. This legal principle refers to the rights that a surviving spouse has to a portion of their deceased spouse's estate. In many states, these rights were traditionally afforded automatically based on marriage. However, Hawaii's laws diverged from the common practice, establishing that dower (the wife's rights) and curtesy (the husband's rights) were phased out after that date. Consequently, for properties acquired before this cutoff, the surviving spouse retains specific rights in terms of inheritance, reflecting an older legal tradition that no longer applies to properties acquired thereafter.

Other provided options revolve around concepts that do not accurately mirror Hawaii's legal stance on dower and curtesy. Recognizing these rights on a voluntary basis, for new estates, or as rarely enforced does not capture the specific historical and legal context surrounding when these rights were applicable up until the legislative changes made in 1977.