Hawaii Revised Statutes Division 3. Property; Family § 560:3-1212

Every coroner or medical examiner who is called to investigate the death of any person leaving no known spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, issue, parent, grandparent, or issue of grandparents over the age of majority in the State, shall take immediate charge of the decedent's personal effects and if in the discretion of the coroner the value of such personal effects is in excess of $2,500, forthwith deliver them to the clerk of the court of the judicial circuit in which such decedent died.

If after ten days no person appears, competent to initiate appropriate probate proceedings, the clerk shall administer the estate pursuant to the provisions of this part; provided that if the decedent's estate is of a value exceeding $100,000, the clerk shall notify the judge of the circuit having charge of the probate calendar, and shall petition for the appointment of a personal representative of such estate other than the clerk. In the meantime the clerk may take such steps as may be appropriate to preserve and conserve the real and personal property of the decedent. All expenses in connection with the taking possession, care, and conservation of the property and with such proceedings shall be proper charges against the estate of the decedent. The corporation counsel or county attorney of each county shall advise, assist, and represent as far as necessary any of such officers in the performance of any act or the institution or prosecution of any proceeding required by this section. If the decedent's estate is of a value not exceeding $2,500 and the decedent has no known relatives or whose relatives have failed to indicate any means of disposition of the estate, then the coroner or medical examiner having custody of the property shall dispose of the property in an appropriate manner, which may be any one of the following or a combination thereof: