§560:8-201 Effect and transition. (a) The amendments made by [Act 288, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, hereinafter referred to as this Act,] shall take effect on January 1, 1997.
(b) Except as provided elsewhere in this Act, on January 1, 1997:
(1) The amendments made by this Act apply to any governing instruments executed by decedents dying thereafter;
(2) The amendments made by this Act apply to any proceedings in court then pending or thereafter commenced regardless of the time of the death of decedent except:
(A) Parts 1 and 2 of Article II (relating to intestate succession and elective share) shall apply only to the estates of decedents dying after January 1, 1997; and
(B) To the extent that in the opinion of the court the former procedure should be made applicable in a particular case in the interest of justice or because of infeasibility of application of the procedure of this Act;
(3) Every personal representative including a person administering an estate of a minor or incompetent holding an appointment on that date, continues to hold the appointment but has only the powers conferred by this Act and is subject to the duties imposed with respect to any act occurring or done thereafter;
(4) An act done before the effective date in any proceeding and any accrued right is not impaired by this Act. If a right is acquired, extinguished, or barred upon the expiration of a prescribed period of time which has commenced to run by the provisions of any statute before the effective date, the provisions shall remain in force with respect to that right; and
(5) Any rule of construction or presumption provided in this Act applies to instruments executed before the effective date unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent. [L 1996, c 288, §5; am L 1997, c 244, §16]